The first time I heard her sing I fell in-love. There was something captivating about her voice, she wasn’t afraid of speaking the truth about conscious messages through her songs. Her honest nature is often revealed in her music, after all, her favourite quote is, “I’m an artist and I’m sensitive about my sh**.” Her melodic tones and how she structures her songs is brilliant. You could be having a bad day and you just plug into her music and your mood and energy levels will completely shift.

Erica Abi Wright was born on the 26^th of February 1971. She is also known as Fat Belly Bella, Low Down Loretta Brown, Analogue Girl in a Digital World, Sara Bellum, Badoula Oblongata. She is a musician, singer, songwriter, producer, Dj, holistic healer and an actress. She has hit songs such as Love Of My Life, On and On, Bag Lady, Next Lifetime and many more amazing songs.

In her early career she was well known for her famous head wraps that were her signature style and would make her stand out, not being afraid of conforming to the norm. In 1997 she received six nominations and won three awards at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards:  Favourite Female Solo Album for Baduizm and best R&B/Soul of the year for On and On.

She does not limit herself, constantly finding ways to evolve as an artist. “I believe that music and the music business are two different things,” she said in 1997. She stays true to her work as well as herself. This is what has sustained her in this industry for such a long time. Strutting her stuff as the new face of Givenchy’s Spring 2014 campaign, she has always been a fashion innovator. It’s not a surprise why everybody wants a piece of Erykah and that is why she is the absolute perfect fit for the upcoming Cape Town International Jazz festival that is taking place on the 28^th-29^th of March 2014. She will be one of the leading acts amongst other great musicians. She will be setting the stage on fire and this will probably be my most memorable performance of the festival.

For more information about the festival follow @
CTJazzFest on Twitter.

Interesting Facts about Erykah Badu

-Her musical influences are Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Chaka Khan and Roberta Flack

-She has a younger sister by the name of Koryan, also known as Koko, whose stage name is Nayrok while she’s performing as one of Erykah’s backup singers

-She is friends with celebrities such as Solange Knowles, Janelle Monae, Cee Lo

-She studied Performing and Visual Arts at Booker T. Washington High School

-Erykah Badu is a proud vegan

 Images sourced: www.erykahbadu.com, www.givenchy.com

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