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Erykah Badu’s Influence Described By Questlove, Puma Curry, Thom Browne, And More

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Erykah Badu is just one of the celebrities presently proving that you’re never too old to reinvent yourself. As she quickly approaches her 52nd birthday, the Texas-born singer sat down with Vogue to discuss her “second coming” for the fashion magazine’s March issue. Aside from sharing her own thoughts, the outlet also spoke with several of Badu’s past collaborators and family members to truly capture the essence of her ethereal persona.

“The Healer” hitmaker’s unique style keeps fans talking. However, she says that’s not a world she dove into until her 30s and 40s. “What I had was a good understanding of look and shape, the way I did with paper dolls when I was a child,” she explained of her experience with fashion in her younger years.

Erykah Badu is seen during Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 on September 24, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Arnold Jerocki/GC Images)

“For me, it’s about seeing things coming together, like making a cake from beginning to end,” Badu went on. As her personal style continues to evolve, the mother of three has built strong working relationships with several top designers. Among them are Marni’s creative director, Francesco Risso, and Thom Browne.

The former says he was a huge fan of the vocalist’s process when they built a capsule collection together. “I’ve worked with celebrities in the past [but] with Erykah, it’s a completely new world… It’s just so innate. With her, it’s not just about making music. She’s iconic because what comes with her is a lifestyle, it’s a complete world.”

In the same story, Vogue quotes The Roots frontman Questlove’s thoughts upon seeing Badu at the 1996 Soul Train Awards in Los Angeles. “She had on the tallest turban I’ve ever seen in my life,” the producer recalls. “It was like she was hiding a three-year-old standing on her head, that’s how tall her headwrap was. I was just transfixed.” As for the “Tyrone” artist, she felt as though her fashion at the time was “really embracing what it meant to be an African here, generationally.”

The daughter she shares with The D.O.C., Puma, also spoke with Vogue about her mother’s undeniably strong influence. The 18-year-old and her boyfriend, Sean, have served as Badu’s personal assistants for upwards of a year now. At the same time, the singer’s daughter has been working double-time as a stylist, ensuring the performer has the “15 to 20 trunks of clothing and accessories she needs on tour.”

“I don’t know how other family workplace dynamics go, but it’s like a real job. I have to buckle down and do what I need to do or else word is going to get to the CEO and I’m not going to get paid. You know what I mean?” Puma dished off her responsibilities. Read Erykah Badu’s full Vogue profile here, and check back later for more pop culture news updates.

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Questlove Reveals That some Artists Didn’t Perform For The Grammy’s Hip Hop 50 Tribute Because They Didn’t Want To Be Called “Old School”

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The Hip Hop 50 Tribute at the Grammy’s was one of the most talked about moments of the night, along with the multiple Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar snubs. Questlove has been receiving praise for curating the tribute and has shared some of the struggles in trying to get artists to perform.

The Roots drummer said on Twitter that the three main reasons why some artists declined to perform were because they were either already booked, declined the offer, or a third option that Quest declined to get into.

“general ?s answered about last night: (some are asking if we are playing erasure games so uh….yeah I don’t play that so—in answering the questions of “why wasn’t dada there?) 1. already booked 2. declined our offer straight up 3. or a third option im not gonna get into.”

In the thread, Questlove shared his thought process behind choosing the rappers that performed, even throwing out the idea of having an all-women rappers performance, which was quickly shot down.

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People began to ask Quest different questions about the tribute, and the process of finding rappers to do a tribute. One fan asked if he had once said that certain rappers don’t do tributes because it might age them, to which Quest said that current rappers started to loathe sentimental history and in the process of trying to find artists who wanted to do tributes, half of the “no’s” he got were from artists saying that they’re not old school.

“this is KEY. started 20 years back w Hip Hop Honors. Hip Hoppers (current at least) LOATHE sentimental history or talk of Legacy or anything so half the “NO” was from the “we aint old school”—-once 40 THEN mofos think about making a lasting impression.”

The post Questlove Reveals That some Artists Didn’t Perform For The Grammy’s Hip Hop 50 Tribute Because They Didn’t Want To Be Called “Old School” appeared first on The Source.

Questlove Details Why Some Artists Didn’t Perform For Hip Hop 50th Grammy Tribute

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It was a massive celebration of Hip Hop on the Grammy stage last weekend, and Questlove is answering fans questions about the performance. Dozens of hitmakers from varying generations of the culture joined together to revisit our favorite classics. This year marks Hip Hop’s 50th Anniversary, so it was expected to be a performance unlike any other we’ve seen at the ceremony. Questlove helped co-curate the event, and after it aired, he was inundated with queries about why certain artists were noticeably absent.

Quest went into detail about the process on Twitter. Off the bat, he said missing artists were either 1) already booked, 2) declined the offer, or 3) “a third option im not gonna get into.” He added, “Or we made a decision to wait for the 2 hour August taping.” The Roots icon also explained why they decided not to do a memorial tribute for those that passed away.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 05: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Questlove performs onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/WireImage)
Read More: LL Cool J Hosts Star-Studded Hip-Hop Tribute At Grammys

According to Questlove, it was more important to honor the artists who are still living. Additionally, “For starters I learned with VH1 Honors not all rappers are good MCs and bad karaoke is a danger slope. And WAY too many legends passed so someone’s estate was gonna be heated. this went through a crazy evolution. all my suggestions were 20 min presentations with Breakbeats/Graf Legends/Dancers/DJ/Beatboxers—-you’ll be shocked how fast 25-40 secs goes by and you don’t even get the halfway mark of 1995l remember 1973 to 2023 was the goal.”

There were also conversations about having all women, but Quest suggested that tensions kept that from materializing. “[And] this is NOT leading to a tired narrative that women don’t get along because there MORE concerns on the men side of things too (happiest moment seeing LL & Ice T just chillin—)—but yeah the most asked question was ‘who all gone be there?’ which is understandable.”

Read More: Jay-Z Performs “GOD DID” With Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, & More At Grammys

“We had a criteria we wanted to follow: alive? harmonizing? turntablism? fighting shape? NYC? LA? BAY? ATL? NAWLINS? HOUSTON? MIDWEST born before 1960? born after 1995? Superlyrical? Stylistic? Original? generally known by at least 2 generations?” Later, someone questioned why there wasn’t any representation of artists from the 2010s. Questlove replied, “Because they said ‘no’, or they walked out.” Check out Questlove answering fans’ questions below.

Questlove Reveals that Will Smith Was Supposed to Make A Surprise Appearance At Grammys, but Had to Cancel Due to Bad Boys 4 Filming

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It’s been a while since Will Smith has been on a stage at an awards show, but allegedly, he was scheduled to make a surprise appearance at the Grammy’s this past Sunday night. However, his comeback performance was derailed due to conflicts with filming Bad Boys 4.

In the weeks leading up to the Grammy’s, host Trevor Noah had hinted that there would be surprise guest appearances, but had kept quiet about specifics. However, Questlove, who produced a 10-minute 50th anniversary of hip-hop tribute performance for the ceremony, let one no-show surprise guest name slip on the red carpet.

Questlove told a Variety reporter that he was going to give the spoiler alert away. “Will Smith was a part of the festivities tonight, but they started shooting Bad Boys 4 this week. There were a lot of preliminary shots that he had to do, so we had to lose Will.”

The show did, however, go on without Smith. Missy Elliott, Run-DMC, LL Cool J, The Roots, Big Boi, Busta Rhymes, GloRilla, Rakim, Ice-T, Lil Baby, GloRilla, Lil Uzi Vert, and more showcased their talents in a commemorative tribute to the genre.

Before the performance, Dr. Dre was honored with the inaugural Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. He spoke about the impact that hip-hop had on him while saying that he was happy to be influencing the next generation of artists. The full performance can be seen below.

Questlove said that pulling off the show took a lot of hard work, telling the New York Times that “it was a lot of mountains to move to make this happen,” noting that Will Smith was not the only celebrity who couldn’t make it. Future and Lil’ Wayne also had toco cancel due to other commitments.

It’s been almost a year since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in March of 2022.

The post Questlove Reveals that Will Smith Was Supposed to Make A Surprise Appearance At Grammys, but Had to Cancel Due to Bad Boys 4 Filming appeared first on The Source.

Questlove Reveals Why Will Smith Skipped Grammys Hip Hop 50th Tribute

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We know your timelines must be overrun with Grammys highlights, and we’re offering another from Questlove. The Roots icon helped co-curate the ceremony’s tribute for Hip Hop’s 50th Anniversary, and it was a sight to behold. Generations of the culture shared the stage as pioneers revisited their classic hits. Younger artists like Lil Uzi Vert even did their famed TikTok dances. It’s just one of the many ways Hip Hop will be celebrated this year, but fans noticed there were hitmakers missing from the Grammy honor.

Understandably, not everyone could be included in the tribute. Some artists have already taken to social media to verbalize their disappointment after being excluded. According to Questlove, Will Smith was supposed to join the dozens of other Hip Hop pioneers on stage. However, his prior engagement kept him from the Grammys this year.

Read More: Kendrick Lamar’s Kids React To Grammy Win For “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers”: Watch

“I’ll give the spoiler alert away. Will Smith was a part of the festivities tonight, but they started shooting ‘Bad Boys 4’ this week,” Quest told Variety while on the Grammys red carpet. “There were a lot of preliminary shots that he had to do, so we had to lose Will.” He also recognized that getting Smith was a “shot in the dark” because the actor consistently works on films. Additionally, others like LL Cool J, Ice-T, and Queen Latifah dipped out on filming their television shows to make the tribute.

When chatting with Essence, Questlove further shared that the original collaborative performance was slated for a longer running time. “It took about four weeks to put this together,” he said. “My first draft was closer to 20 minutes, and Jesse Collins wasn’t having that. He was like, ‘There’s not enough budget in the world to clear all these songs and all these flights.’”

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA FEBRUARY 5: 65th GRAMMY AWARDS An array of rappers perform a tribute to the 50th anniversary of hip hop at the 65th Grammy Awards, held at the Crytpo.com Arena on February 5, 2023. — (Photo by Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Read More: Grammy Voters Didn’t Cast Ballots For Beyoncé Because She Wins Too Many Awards

Although he may not have received the time he wanted, he made it work. “Still, it’s 14 minutes and we’re starting from the beginning. From Grand Master Flash to Future — from Flash to the Future and everything in between. And I’m glad that I started out when Hip-Hop was taboo and now we not only have a seat at the table, we are the table.”

Smith’s appearance at the Grammys would have been his first live music performance since his infamous Oscars moment. Last year’s controversy set him in a negative light, but it seems that he has put it all behind him.

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Why Wasn’t Your Favorite Rapper In The Grammys’ Hip-Hop Tribute? Questlove Has A Thorough Explanation

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At the Grammys last night (February 5), the Recording Academy paid tribute to 50 years of hip-hop history with a 10-minute, all-star performance from a number of the most important rappers ever. With anything of this sort that attempts to be all-encompassing, though, some people are bound to be upset. It’s impossible to include every rapper, and as for why some didn’t make the cut, Questlove, who put the whole thing together, offered a lengthy explanation.

He began by generally breaking it down on Twitter today, tweeting, “general ?s answered about last night: (some are asking if we are playing erasure games so uh….yeah I don’t play that so—in answering the questions of ‘why wasn’t dada there?) 1. already booked 2. declined our offer straight up 3. or a third option im not gonna get into.”

He then teased a bigger endeavor in this realm coming up: “or we made a decision to wait for the 2 hour August taping.”

After going into more depth, he addressed questions some Twitter users had. One person asked, “Why was there no representation of talent from the 2010’s,” and Questlove replied, “because they said ‘no’, or they walked out.” Another said, “I’m sure there were all types of circumstances, but Ice-T as the Only LA representative, in Staples Center, in Los Angeles… is WILD!! Great performance otherwise.” Questlove answered, “welp: I asked like 10 legends so….sometimes you gotta go with the one who wants you. again might not be your preference but most of hip hop has side gigs. Acting was the main issue. lotta movies being shot.”

Meanwhile, in an interview, he explained Will Smith’s absence specifically, saying, “They started shooting Bad Boys 4 this week, so he couldn’t make rehearsals. He wanted to do it.”

Find Questlove’s original thread below.

“general ?s answered about last night: (some are asking if we are playing erasure games so uh….yeah I don’t play that so—in answering the questions of ‘why wasn’t dada there?)

1. already booked
2. declined our offer straight up
3. or a third option im not gonna get into

or we made a decision to wait for the 2 hour August taping

—we decided to eschew those who passed away, & give flowers to the living —for starters I learned with VH1 Honors not all rappers are good MCs and bad karaoke is a danger slope. And WAY too many legends passed so someone’s estate was gonna be heated.

this went through a crazy evolution. all my suggestions were 20 min presentations with Breakbeats/Graf Legends/Dancers/DJ/Beatboxers—-you’ll be shocked how fast 25-40 secs goes by and you don’t even get the halfway mark of 1995l remember 1973 to 2023 was the goal

we were aware of playing our biases out (if it were me alone? idda just skewered to my teenyears). at one point I said ‘we should do ALL women!!’ —that idea didn’t get too …..far (we didnt have time to do a ‘Some Kind Of Monster’/Kumbya thing to make that a reality)

& this is NOT leading to a tired narrative that women don’t get along because there MORE concerns on the men side of things too (happiest moment seeing LL & Ice T just chillin—)—but yeah the most asked question was ‘who all gone be there?’ which is understandable.

we had a criteria we wanted to follow: alive? harmonizing? turntablism? fighting shape? NYC? LA? BAY? ATL? NAWLINS? HOUSTON? MIDWEST? born before 1960? born after 1995? Superlyrical? Stylistic? Original? generally known by at least 2 generations?

now granted they might not be your favorite (and there were 2 crucial 11th hour (more like 10 mins before taping) cancellations that mighta made it look like we were biased in our choices. but just understand we literally tried to SQUEEEEEEEZE everyone in.”

Questlove Explained Why Will Smith Had To Back Out Of The 2023 Grammys’ All-Star Hip-Hop Tribute

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We’re approaching the one-year anniversary of “The Slap.” Last March, Will Smith waltzed on stage during the 2022 Oscars and slapped Chris Rock after Rock made a distasteful joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. And though Rock declined to file charges, Smith is banned from attending the Oscars for the next decade.

Smith is not banned from attending the Grammys, though, and people noticed his absence on Sunday night, February 5. The 2023 Grammys featured a medley performance celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. The segment was directed and produced by Questlove, introduced by LL Cool J, and narrated by Black Thought.

DJ Jazzy Jeff was one of many legendary artists to perform, but where was Smith, aka/fka The Fresh Prince?

Questlove told Entertainment Tonight that Smith was “99.4 percent” committed to performing, “but they started shooting Bad Boys 4 this week, so he couldn’t make rehearsals.” Questlove added, “He wanted to do it.”

For those keeping score at home, Questlove apparently doesn’t hold grudges. Smith’s slap occurred as Rock was presenting the Oscar for Best Documentary. The award went to Questlove for Summer Of Soul, and Smith later apologized to Questlove for overshadowing his first Academy Award.

Smith posted a video last July apologizing not only to Questlove but to Rock, Rock’s mother, Rock’s entire family, his own family, and more.

“It really breaks my heart to have stolen and tarnished your moment,” Smith said to his “fellow nominees” in the video. “I can still see Questlove’s eyes. It happened on Questlove’s award, and you know, it’s like, ‘I’m sorry’ really isn’t sufficient.”

Watch the 50-year hip-hop anniversary tribute below.

Questlove Fights Back Against ‘Black Erasure’ In Florida’s New African American Studies Guidelines

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By now, you’ve probably seen a post on social media featuring a list of names of prominent Black authors, poets, and culture critics like Amiri Baraka, bell hooks, and Ta-Nehisi Coates with their names crossed out. (If you haven’t, I suggest you meet some Black people or at least start associating with people who care about Black people. You might not think we’re all that important, but in this country, we’ve been the canaries in the coal mine for 200 years.)

This list denotes recent changes being threatened by the Florida College Board to optional AP African American Studies classes as part of a wider effort in that state to suppress historical works or studies that paint the US in anything less than a flattering light when it comes to the government’s treatment of Black folks. You know, like how there were forcible, undisclosed medical studies performed on Black men at Tuskeegee, or how prominent Black towns were burned to the ground.

On Thursday, Questlove, whose directorial debut Summer Of Soul was one of those works that unearthed a vital piece of Black History, the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, after footage was shelved for over 40 years, called out the “Black erasure” that the changes represent on Instagram, warning followers that this changes could become widespread should Florida governor Ron DeSantis run for President. DeSantis has been described as a “sanitized” version of Donald Trump, but in actuality, he might be worse.

“For all of you kind folk who praised @SummerOfSoulMovie this is the exact kind of erasure that makes black erasure so easy to do,” Quest wrote. “It starts slow and benign….and before you know it—-it spreads and spreads & we ignore or hope it will fall on someone else’s hand to come with a solution. Then it’s too late. This is why local elections are important. This is why you can’t sleep for even a micro minute until the job is done.”

“If this is what is happening in Florida….what will happen when he runs for president?” he wondered. “Don’t wanna start the morning fear mongering but these are different times we living in. You can’t sleep for a second.”

You can see Questlove’s full post below.