She is best known for her singles You Got Me her collaboration with The Roots, as well as her own songs Tyrone, Love of My Life, On & On, Bag Lady, The Healer, Honey and Soldier. Her lyrics are highly personal urban philosophy which throw emotional challenges in the face of the listener. She weaves unusual musical influences together creating a rich texture of sound.
Some music journalists have labeled her Nu soul, nouvelle-soul or neo soul, often comparing her to Billie Holiday in lyrical delivery and grouping her with Maxwell and D'Angelo in musical genre.
Baduizm, Badu's highly acclaimed debut album, was released in early 1997 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts. Lead single On & On reached #12 on the singles charts in both the U.S. and UK. Badu received notice for her introspective lyrics and jazzy, bass-heavy sound, and was hailed as one of the leading lights of the burgeoning neo soul genre. Her sophisticated style of singing drew many comparisons to Billie Holiday. Baduizm eventually went triple platinum and, along with On & On, won Grammy Awards at the 1998 ceremonies.
During that year, Badu became involved with rapper André 3000 of OutKast, with whom she had a child, Seven, who was born in 1997. Their relationship ended sometime in the late 90s. Badu recorded her first live album, Live, while pregnant with Seven, and the release of the recording coincided with the birth to her child. Live reached #4 on the Billboard charts, selling double platinum, and spawned another R&B hit single in Tyrone a song chiding a selfish, cheap, and inattentive boyfriend. Badu also collaborated with The Roots (who had previously handled production duties on a number of tracks on Baduizm) on their breakthrough 1999 release, Things Fall Apart. She was featured on the song You Got Me co-written by Jill Scott, which hit the top 40 and won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
After taking some time off to raise her child, Badu returned in 2000 with Mama's Gun, an album more organic in sound than her previous studio album, and primarily produced by the Soulquarians and noted bassist Pino Palladino. A remix of one of the album's songs, Bag Lady was issued as the first single and topped the R&B charts for seven weeks. The album was well-received, with the lyrical content winning notices from many publications who found some of her lyrics hard to decipher on her initial releases. Despite not charting as high as her first two albums, Mama's Gun was another platinum-selling success, and Bag Lady was nominated for a Grammy.
By 2000, Badu was in a romantic relationship with fellow Soulquarian Common, and Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop) was released as a collaboration between the two on the Brown Sugar soundtrack. Love of My Life hit #9 on the pop charts, topped the R&B listings, and Badu was awarded her fourth Grammy for the song in 2003.
After the release of Mama's Gun and Love of My Life, Badu went through a period of writer's block. She hit the road throughout 2002 and much of 2003 on what she dubbed the "Frustrated Artist Tour," in search of inspiration to write and perform new material. The conclusion of the tour saw Badu head back to the studio with new material, and in September of 2003, the Worldwide Underground was released. More jam-oriented than any of her prior releases, Badu was quoted as saying that the release was designed to serve as one continuous groove. Worldwide Underground reached #3 on the Billboard charts and was certified gold not long after its release, and Badu received four further Grammy nominations for the EP.
After almost four years and the birth of a daughter, Puma, it was revealed in 2007 that Badu had three albums in the works over the course of 2007 and 2008. Honey, a new single produced by 9th Wonder, was leaked online in November 2007, and the new album, titled New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), was released on February 26, 2008.
On August 23, 2008, Badu joined the rock band My Morning Jacket on stage at their show in Dallas, Texas to perform her song Tyrone. Her surprise appearance was met with an enthusiastic reaction from the audience.
On February 1, 2009 Badu gave birth to her third child, a girl named Mars Merkaba with her boyfriend Jay Electronica.
Her album New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) was released on March 30, 2010.
Certainly
Erykah Badu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Certainly not me
Who told you that it was alright to love me
Certainly, certainly not me
I was not looking for no love affair
And now you want to fix me
Was not looking for no love affair
I was not looking for no love affair
And now you want to kiss me
Was not looking for no love affair
And now you want to control me
Hold me
I know you're trying to get creative with my love
And that's alright, but
You tried to get a little tricky, turned my back
And then you slipped me a mickey
Certainly, certainly not me
The world is mine
When I wake up
I don't need nobody telling me the time
Who told you that it was alright to love me
Certainly not me, no way no
Who gave you permission to rearrange me
Certainly not me, oh no no
I was not looking for no love affair
And now you want to fix me
Was not looking for no love affair
And now you want to mold me
I was not looking for no love affair no no
And now you want to kiss me
I was not looking for no love affair no
And now you want to control me
Hold me
You're really trying to get creative with my love
And that's real cute, but
You tried to get a little tricky, turned my back
And then you slipped me a mickey
Certainly, certainly, certainly not me
The world is mine
When I wake up
I don't need nobody telling me the time
Certainly, certainly, certainly not me (I wasn't looking, was not looking for no love affair)
In the song Certainly by Erykah Badu, the lyrics talk about a woman who is feeling frustrated by someone who is trying to change her and love her without consent. She questions their motives, asking who gave them permission to rearrange her and try to control her. She asserts that she was not looking for any kind of love affair, and now this person wants to fix, mold, kiss, and control her. Badu then talks about how this person is trying to get creative with her love, which she acknowledges as cute, but warns that they tried to get a little tricky and slipped her a mickey.
The song is about autonomy and not allowing anyone to change or control you without your consent. It shows the importance of personal boundaries and the need for mutual respect in relationships. Badu's lyrics are a powerful reminder that love and affection should always be consensual.
Line by Line Meaning
Who gave you permission to rearrange me
You don't have the right to try to change who I am
Certainly not me
I didn't give you permission to do that
Who told you that it was alright to love me
You assumed that I wanted your love without even asking me
I was not looking for no love affair
I wasn't interested in a romantic relationship
And now you want to fix me
You're trying to change me to fit your idea of what I should be
Was not looking for no love affair
I didn't want to be in a romantic relationship
And now you want to mold me
You want to shape me into something that fits your idea of a perfect partner
I was not looking for no love affair
I wasn't interested in a romantic relationship
And now you want to kiss me
You're trying to initiate physical contact without my consent
Was not looking for no love affair
I wasn't interested in a romantic relationship
And now you want to control me
You're trying to exert power over me
Hold me
You want to possess me
I know you're trying to get creative with my love
You're trying to be inventive and original with your romantic gestures
And that's alright, but
I appreciate the effort, but...
You tried to get a little tricky, turned my back
You deceived me when I wasn't looking
And then you slipped me a mickey
You drugged me without my knowledge or consent
The world is mine
I have the power to control my own life
When I wake up
Every day is another opportunity to make my own choices
I don't need nobody telling me the time
I don't need anyone else to dictate how I should live my life
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: Erica Wright, Madukwu E. Chinwah
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind