I view my hair and clothes as functional art.

I come from a long line of matriarchal women, and my greatest teachers were my mothers.

Society has a problem with female nudity when it is not . . . ”—Badu pauses to get her words together; she wants this point to be very clear—“. . . when it is not packaged for the consumption of male entertainment. Then it becomes confusing.

We were all born, and we all came to the music business with everything we had. Some of us just don't get a chance. Now there's a lot of other people like myself, indeed, who are getting heard worldwide. That gives other artists a chance.

My mom was the Diana Ross of our clan. She was always up-to-date, and always knew what to do and what not to do in a fashion sense.

I have a pair of blue pants that were my favorite for a while and were a part of my show uniform - every night, you know.

Now my record deal helps me to do things for free or give more time to my community than I could otherwise.