"Eryka Badu was born in Dallas, Texas on February 26, 1971, her birth-name was Erica Abi Wright. Growing up she listened to the soul of the ‘70s and the hip-hop of the ‘80s. She was brought up by her mother and grandmother because her father ran out on the family when she was still very young. Her musical skill began to appear at the tender age of four, when she started singing with her mother at the Dallas Theatre Centre. When she got older she started to think about starting her own career. She attended the local performing arts school, Booker T. Washington High, where she studied dance. By the time she was 14 she was already being heard on local radio stations.In high school she received the nick-name MC Apples, and it was during this time that she drew on her ancient heritage to create the name Erykah Badu. She chose the spelling of her first name based on the meaning of the word ""kah"" which is the Muslim word for ""can do no wrong"" and Badu means ""manifest truth and light"" in Arabic. Slowly gaining wider recognition she moved on from high school to attend Grambling State University where she studied performing arts. But she left university before she graduated in order to cultivate her music career.From there she moved on to form the hip-hop duo Erykah Free with her cousin Robert ""Free"" Bradford, she supported herself on the side by teaching children music and dance at Dallas's cultural center. A demo tape from her duo act eventually found its way to Kedar Massenburg, who was willing to sign Erykah as a solo artist to his new label Kedar Entertainment. Her cousin graciously backed out of the scene and Erykah started on her way to stardom."