Erykah Badu: We Can Organize When Police Beat Us Up, But Can We Organize To Stop Black-On-Black Crime?

Erykah Badu: We Can Organize When Police Beat Us Up, But Can We Organize To Stop Black-On-Black Crime?

Erykah Badu is living her best life, and not eyeing politics too much. While the presidential race is heating up as millions will head to the polls in November, Erykah Badu doesn’t seem hopeful about the results. Instead, she said the focus should be on local politics.

She says,

“Oh, I don’t believe in any of that s***…Politics. I don’t know how much we have a say…It’s a show, it’s a game. On the smaller scale, I think that your city reps and district reps are very serious about what they’re doing, and then when they get up a little higher it becomes a show. Everybody gets kinda turned out.”

She still seems baffled that President Donald Trump is the head of state.

“This is the craziest s*** I’ve ever seen in my life. Is this real? But — it will become a reality, if that’s what the plan is.”

Donald Trump

Still, she said she’s not surprised and pointed to her previous hits like “Twinkle” from her 2008 album New Amerykah Part 1 (4th World War). She sang in that song,

They keep us uneducated/ Sick and depressed/ Doctor I’m addicted now/ I’m under arrest.

She now,

“I felt it coming on. I was really feeling a strong affinity toward writing about what was going on around me. And I actually wrote about what’s happening right now in that album. So I don’t feel the need to write it now, because I got it out.”

She also said the priorities of the Black community might not be effective when it comes to protesting the crimes against one another.

“We can organize like a motherf***er when police beat us up. But can we organize to stop black-on-black crime, or poor-on-poor crime? Because, you know, poor is the new black. You don’t have to be black now.”

Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu saluted her fellow artists like Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, and NWA who have used their platform to make a change.

“I think it’s cool what Beyoncé’s doing. Kendrick Lamar is consciously writing and effecting change by showing the other side of what happens in his community. Believe it or not, NWA started out doing that too. ‘Gangsta, Gangsta’ was actually a parody.” 

“It’s Cube’s way of saying: this is what you’ve created. He’s not a gangster. But I think it felt so good to ‘em. Whatever gets you the most p***y, I guess. Activist p***y or gangsta p***y? Gangstap***y was a little bit more plentiful.”

When she’s not rocking a stage, she’s practicing being a doula. She’s been certified for nearly 20 years and gave birth to her three children at home.

Erykah Badu and daughter Puma Badu

She said,

 “I love motherhood. It’s natural for me. Being a doula, or being a mom, or even, like, making food—it’s just breathing and trusting, and allowing the creativity to flow through.”

Do you agree with Erykah Badu on her political views? Tell us in the comments.