How much is Erykah Badu worth?
| Net Worth: | $10 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Singer |
| Date of Birth: | February 26, 1971 (age 51) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 4 ft 11 in (1.52 m) |
About Erykah Badu
Erica Wright, who grew up to become the famous Erykah Badu, was raised by her mother Kollen Gipson. Erykah’s father left home when she was still young and she was raised in Dallas, Texas along with her brother and her sister. Erykah was very influenced by her mother who was an actress and made her first public performance at age 4 with her at the Dallas Theatre Centre. She continued her creative pursuits and ten years later, at age 14, Erica was freestyling for a local radio station alongside the likes of Roy Hargrove.
She decided to reinvent her image and throw off what she perceived to be a “slave name,” dropping Erica Wright to become Erykah Badu. She added the “kah” as it was a term to signify the inner self and “Badu” because it was her favorite jazz scat sound. Erykah went on to attend college at Grambling State University in Louisiana after graduating from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. At that time, she had become far more interested in making music and decided to make a demo tape and pursue a music career. Her tape found its way to music mogul Kedar Massenburg who signed her to Universal Records.
Her debut album, Baduism, released in 1997 was a critical and commercial success which made it to number 1 on Billboard’s albums chart. In 1998, she won was nominated for three Grammy awards winning in the categories of “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” and “Best R&B Album”. The record went on to sell 2.8 million copies in the US and was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA. While the sales of her albums released in the 2000s have been lower following each new release, through her live performances, and appearances as an actress and as herself, she has continued to be a popular award-winning artist and personality. She has won four Grammys, three Soul Train Awards, one American Music Award, two NAACP awards and two BET Awards.
In 1998, she appeared as Queen Mousette in Blues Brothers 2000, and a year later, in 1999, as Rose in The Cider House Rules. In 2019, she appeared as Sister in What Men Want.
Badu’s Total Net Worth
In the late ’90s, Erykah Badu’s debut album Baduizm reached number 2 on the charts and eventually sold 2.8 million copies. While her later releases did not sell as well, in total, she has sold 7.3 million albums worldwide and has also earned from her live performances, including extensive touring. During COVID-19 lockdowns, Forbes magazine reported how Badu was leading the way on paid concert streaming. With initial ticket prices of $1-3 dollar, audiences paid to experience live performances from home. In total, Erykah Badu has earned estimated total career income of around $18 million dollars.
Of that amount, $1-1.5 million is expected to have been paid in business related costs. The remainder, $16.75 million, will have been taxed at a rate of around 47% as Badu has been residing in the state of Texas. After tax, it is estimated that her career earnings are at around $8.88 million dollars, having paid $7.87 million dollars in taxes.
Erykah Badu was partner with André 3000 between 1995 and 1999, Common between 2000 and 2002, The D.O.C. between 2003 and 2004, Jay Electronica between 2004 and 2009, and Carl Jones between 2013 and 2018. She has one child with André 3000, Seven Sirius Benjamin. One child with The D.O.C., Puma Sabti Curry, and one child with Jay Electronica, Mars Merkaba Thedford.
In her personal life, Erykah has likely spent $1-2 million dollars of her career earnings but also probably possesses assets valued at around $700,000, not including investment assets. In her investments, she may have earned investment returns of around $2-3 million dollars. Therefore, it is estimated that Erykah Badu has a net worth of around $10 million dollars.
Summing-Up
She has been called the “Queen of Neo Soul”, Erykah Badu was part of the neo soul subgenre in the ’90s and 2000s along with artists like Maxwell. Her debut album Baduizm was well received, as was her sophomore album, Mama’s Gun. However, her subsequent releases saw a downward trend in record sales, something that she made up for with extensive touring and other live appearances. Most recently, Badu was one of the artists leading the way in paid concert streaming.
