Hey everyone listening to our podcast extras. This is Ari Melbourne. You can tell this is a special podcast extra because it's not just the start of the show which we share with you tonight.

What we have for you is something really special. It's really honestly. I'll tell you one of the most interesting conversations I've been able to be a part of since working as a journalist with the singer and producer and sometime DJ Erica Badu.

This was our first sit down conversation. We covered a ton of ground. If you follow the beat or politics in general, you may have seen some headlines out of this. We talked about how she really popularized and renewed the use of the the terms woke and stay woke in a song of hers.

And what she thought about Trump and to San just another hijacking that language you're going to hear ahead her full response we heard some of this on TV but this is the 50 minute full interview which is a lot longer than what we heard on TV.

And I could tell you that response from Erica actually drew tons of headlines everywhere from LA Times to people magazine to political and music sites because she had such a thoughtful and deep rejoinder.

So that's coming up. I'll let you hear it in her own words. We also talked about artificial intelligence and how it draws on kind of what she called the ancestral roots of human composition art and knowledge.

Like I said, there's a lot in here. So that's coming up now. That's the podcast extra 15 minutes with Erica Badu get comfortable. Put it on your headphones, put in your car if you're driving around because it is quite a ride to just sit and take in so much of her thoughts and spiritual outlook on life.

As always, you can connect with me at are you Melbourne calm go to are you Melbourne calm, you can put your email in there and get my free newsletter my writings about not only the news and politics stuff but I mix in culture shared some pictures and the Grammys that kind of stuff if you're interested otherwise just keep it locked here where you get your podcast and thanks as always for listening to the beat with are you Melbourne podcast.

The universe really doesn't give you what you ask for it gives you what you are and you attract the things that you are so yeah you can't really raise to be something you're not.

Revolutionary Maverick.

Welcome to Maverick with are you Melbourne today we are joined by a celebrated singer DJ and really cultural icon four time Grammy winner Erica Badu. Thanks for being here. Thanks for having me.

I'm excited is there any energy or intention. We should set for our conversation.

I think we are in alignment we're surrounded by. Everything that matters as long as we get in this oxygen I think we good good oxygen go yeah I like I like being outside usually they have us inside for you were outside thank you you got a lot going on that we're going to get into yeah but just big picture how are you feeling at this point in your life and your art and all this other business you're doing I feel.

I feel.

Excited you know.

Yeah exquisite it's good looking forward to the possibilities of things do you feel like.

You're building off everything and I got some stuff I'm going to show you or it's all future you got everything ahead of you I think I got everything ahead of me yeah yeah yeah I like that so we talk to people who we call Mavericks

okay labels can get in the way we could call them anything perfect but you from the start that we got to meet you at least in society in the culture yeah really saw this independent spirit yeah so we kind of want to start from there and look at that.

My name is Eric. I do also known as the body of the old blame got a winner is by do is about Erica.

I do.

Erica.

I'm my life.

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