Erykah Badu Joins Ebro Darden on The Inaugural Episode of ‘The Message’ on Apple Music

On the first installment of The Message with Ebro Darden, Erykah Badu sits with Ebro to discuss her playlist ‘Now Breathe Like It’ and the steps she’s taking to stay mindful and centered in these uncertain times.  Listen live on Tuesday (11/3) at 1:00p PST or anytime on-demand at apple.co/the-message.

“These are songs that I truly and really wake up to every day, that I play in the car when I need it. It’s the vibe for me, it’s the freak for me, it’s what uplifts me or brings me to tears or makes me very, very, very sad. The kind of sad that you want to feel when there’s some good music in your spirit. The tears that bring joy. These are real for me. And sharing them with you is a very personal and real thing for me.”

“No matter what we believe, what the powers that be believe will effect us. No matter how many different directions we want to take ourselves and our communities, what the powers that be that believe will effect all of us so it’s very good to keep up with what’s going on and the choices the powers that be are making for us. Of course, we can effectively come together and change those things as we’ve seen over the years and it takes time… because anything that is strong and will outlast all of us takes a long time and a real plan. Organizing and putting forth your effort and your life… I did this documentary a couple weeks ago… leading up to this day asking people in my city what they believed and were they Republican or Democrat or did they believe the system really worked or does the voting system really work in your opinion. And they gave these differing opinions and everybody’s was very intelligent and it was their own belief. I challenged them next to put on some headphones and listen to a song. It was Beastie Boys “Hold It Now, Hit It”. No matter what they believed, whether they agreed or not on their beliefs, everyone nodded in agreement to the kick of the snare. Hip Hop is bigger than the government. Anything that we collectively believe together can change many things… the frequency of everything.”

“This has been a very long and short and long and short year. 2020 kind of describes how my life is… dramatic pauses and crazy endings and rapid beginnings.”