InStyle USA - 11.2019

Rule No. 1 of interviewing Erykah Badu on the topic

of fashion: Do not be so simple as to presume that her

eclectic and expansive wardrobe can be contained

in a single closet. “Oh, do you mean my closets?” she

responds when asked about where she stores her

things. “My closets look like full rooms. I am a collector,

after all.” She goes on to tell me that she hasn’t gotten

rid of one piece of clothing since the mid-’90s, when

she appeared, miragelike, on the music scene as a soul

goddess in colorful head wraps and slinky dresses.

Her vast collection resides in her home city of Dallas,

where she has lived for most of her 48 years. There she

has “two big dressing rooms.” Pause. “And a few small

closets...and storage.” Pause. “And my grandmother’s

house—she doesn’t really need all that space.”

Anyone who has watched Badu’s iconic music vid-

eos or seen her perform (she still tours eight months

out of the year) knows that fashion isn’t the only thing

she collects. A creative polymath, she has a voracious

appetite for all forms of art and culture. She’s a singer,

a songwriter, a producer, a mama, an actor. She’s also

a doula for those who are coming into the world and

for those who are leaving it. Badu says she doesn’t get

much rest with this line of work and always feels

slightly delirious. She has helped deliver around 35

babies, and the last one was coaxed out only after

she gave the mother a special brew of tea, banged on

a gong, and played hard-core hip-hop. “Babies like

Wu-Tang,” she deadpans.

Her last significant release, But You Caint Use My

Phone, came out in 2015. Since then Badu has offered

R

148 InSTYLE NOVEMBER 2019

Valentino cape. Raf Simons

coat, pants, gloves, and bag.

From Badu’s collection: Jessica

Pass hair pieces, mouthpiece,

and ring. Maison Margiela

tabi boots.

EDITORS’ PICK

For more dimension, use

a cream eye shadow,

like Maybelline New York

ColorTattoo 24 Hour

Eyeshadow ($8; maybelline

.com), in place of primer,

then top with powder.