Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971),[3] known professionally as Erykah Badu (/ˈɛrɪkə bɑːˈduː/), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, 1970s soul, and 1980s hip hop,[3] Badu became associated with the neo soul subgenre in the 1990s and 2000s along with artists such as D'Angelo.[4] She has been called the Queen of Neo soul. Badu's career began after she opened a show for D'Angelo in 1994 in Fort Worth; record label executive Kedar Massenburg was highly impressed with her performance and signed her to Kedar Entertainment.[3] Her first album, Baduizm, was released in February 1997.[5] It spawned four singles: "On & On", "Appletree", "Next Lifetime" and "Otherside of the Game". The album was certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[6] Her first live album, Live, was released in November 1997 and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA.[6] Wikipedia.