Erykah Badu finds herself deeply influenced by her children, not only in her tastes in music but also in her creative process as she crafts new records.
In an exclusive conversation with The Guardian, published on Friday, the renowned singer delved into the impact her three children—Seven, 28, Puma, 22, and Mars, 17—have had on her artistry. This insight comes on the verge of her latest musical endeavor, “Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment,” which is a collaboration with famed producer The Alchemist.
This new album is a significant milestone for Badu, marking her first extensive release since the 2015 mixtape “But You Caint Use My Phone” and showing her return to the music scene more than a decade after her last studio album, “New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh),” dropped 16 years ago.
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Notably, Badu shared that some tracks on the upcoming album are inspired by her daughters, giving the project a personal touch influenced by her close familial bonds.
“Some of these songs are autobiographical, and some of them are messages I want to give to my daughters,” she told The Guardian.
Those daughters have introduced their mom to different genres of music.
“Mars put me on to Faye Webster and Beabadoobee. Mars went backwards and got me listening to Abba! Puma loves musical theatre and Broadway, so she has me listening to Chicago or operas. We share an aux cord in the house, so I don’t have a choice.”
Puma Curry has followed her mother into music. She can be found online singing and sometimes performing alongside Badu.
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Badu welcomed Puma in 2004 with rapper The D.O.C. Mars, her youngest child, was born in 2009. Her father is rapper Jay Electronica, who also appears on Badu’s new album.
Her oldest child, Seven Sirius Benjamin, was born in 1997 during Badu’s relationship with André 3000.
Motherhood began almost simultaneously with the musician’s recording career. Her debut album, Baduizm, arrived in February 1997, and she became pregnant with Seven shortly afterward.
Badu told The Guardian that becoming a mother changed the circumstances surrounding the music she made after her debut. By the time she began working on Mama’s Gun, she was raising a child while adjusting to fame, a breakup and the responsibilities that came with her success.
Her children are now adults or approaching adulthood, and Badu says she has watched them grow up in a very different environment from the one she knew as a child.
Social media is one of the biggest differences.
The 55-year-old believes her children’s generation has less freedom because so much of life now takes place online.
“I noticed that it was different when I tried to show my daughters Fred Flintstone – that cartoon is hilarious to me, and they couldn’t resonate with it because it just doesn’t vibrate at the same rate they do,” she said.
Despite the generational differences, music remains common ground between Badu and her children.