Erykah Badu at The Factory in Deep Ellum

Over the years, Badu’s onstage persona has come to more closely mirror her offstage personality. “She’s regal—but she’s ghetto at the same time,” as one friend puts it. Her early appearances earned her a reputation for high-mindedness which she is now happy to shed, and, among those who know her best, she is equally noted for her knowledge of herbal medicine and for her tendency to respond to seemingly benign comments with a profoundly corny punch line: “That’s what she said!” As a musician, Badu sometimes seems, gratifyingly, to be aging in reverse, embracing a youthful spirit that didn’t hold as much interest for her when she was young and dignified. “I’m the O.G.,” she says now. “Godmother. Auntie. They keep aging and getting old—and I just stay the same.”

– newyorker.com