The performance of the eccentric singer
Erykah Badu at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2001, appeared, in retrospect, to be quite unique. Often she was supposed to come to the Netherlands, but in the end it always backfired. The performance at North Sea Jazz turned out to be a special concert. And her visit to the first edition of the North Sea Jazz Festival in Cape Town was also illustrious: a crowd-surfing Badu was, literally, carried by an audience that adored her. Erykah Badu is the most important representative of contemporary soul music, who has found her own niche in the record collection of both the trendy music lover, and the more mainstream oriented music fan. Her sensual quality soul, mixed with jazz and hip-hop influences, has produced two Grammy’s and various Soul Train Awards and still continues to find its way to a bigger audience. This because of the power and honesty in the lyrics of her songs, which - being larded with spiritual messages and a high dose of positive thinking - set an example for both black and white communities. Badu looks at the world in her own typical way: full of wonder, hope and realism. She draws her inspiration from various religions, philosophies and music.
