Erykah Badu rose to fame in the 90s, a decade where all the music I ever cared to listen to was pop music brought on by the likes of Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that before attending her concert last October 14, 2017, Erykah Badu vs. Everythang Tour at the Harbour Garden Tent of Sofitel Philippine Plaza, I was pretty much clueless about her save for the idea of her standout fashion sense.
I watched that night as the crowd began to gather inside. It was quite a different concert scene for me. The audience was a mixture of 70s, 80s and 90s kids. It’s interesting to note that her music transcends through different ages and everyone was there, excited to see Erykah performing for the first time in the Philippines. It was also quite the star-studded concert; I spotted the likes of Rico Blanco, Andi Eigenmann, Matteo Gudicelli and his lady love Sarah Geronimo, Rhian Ramos, Erwan Heusaff and Marc Nelson, just to name a few.
The mood of the night was set early on by the opening acts courtesy of Kristian Hernandez and DJ Shortkut, together with OPM artists Kat Agarrado, August Wahh, Skarm, RH Xanders.
When the Queen of Neo Soul and Hip Hop finally went on stage, it brought on cheers and screams from an excited crowd of Manila – the last leg and only Asian stop of her Erykah Badu vs. Everythang Tour 2017 A.DÂ world tour. The Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter sure traveled far to meet her Filipino fans! As Erykah said, though, this was her life and she loves what she does.
Erykah didn’t wear one of her colorful head wraps that night, but her whole look still spoke volumes of her bold sense of fashion. Just check out that hat!
During the night, she sang her hit songs “Bag Lady”,“On and On” and “Apple Tree”, which made me join the rest of the crowd as we all grooved to the music and sang along with Erykah. It’s also worth noting that Apple Tree is not just any fun song! It’s a song about staying true to yourself, so you can also attract positive kinds of people in your life. (Yes, I looked up the full lyrics to understand the song better!)
“Umm Hmm” and “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop)” prompted some of the couples in the crowd to dance closely face-to-face as they gently swayed to the music of Ms. Badu. If you ask me, these are the kind of songs to dance to under a moonlit sky! Oh, how my mind wandered off thinking of a particular guy I’d love to slow dance with with these two Erykah Badu songs playing in the background!
During the night, she also told her Filipino fans that she knew what was happening in the Philippines. She read and watched the news. She knew how scared some people are to come to this country and likened it to what’s happening in the US, making some people in the crowd laugh a bit as they knew exactly what she was pertaining to.
Aside from her interesting fashion sense, Erykah Badu is also known to be an activist. The night of her concert, she talked about Christopher Columbus Day, a holiday in the US that commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in America back in October 12, 1492. She said Columbus stole from the Native Americans and in honor of Columbus Day, Ms. Badu jokingly said, “I want everyone to steal some shit that night and own it for themselves. First thing we gonna steal is our fu***ing dreams back!” A cry for rally that definitely struck a chord in the audience’s hearts, making the crowd applaud, cheer and scream in agreement and support one more time.
Erykah Badu’s concert was everythang and more. As one of the women from the audience said, “her heels hurt like hell, but so worth it”. Oh, yes, I couldn’t agree more as I thought of my own feet hurting from so much standing. It was all worth it to witness Erykah Badu in concert.
Now, what am I supposed to do when I want Erykah Badu in my world, though? Will I have to wait for the next lifetime to experience her again?
Erykah Badu VS Everythang Tour 2017 AD, Live in Manila was produced by Volume Unit Entertainment in co-production with Worldwide Womb.
