In a wallop of a year, Erykah Badu is mastering the counter-narrative. Against the barrage of downbeat news stories, the musician’s Instagram bio issues a reminder that “Things are ‘GOOD’ too. Don’t forget.” After concerts across the globe shut down in March, cutting off the main income channel for so many musicians, the 49-year-old hustled to build a livestream platform, creating a portal into her crystal-blessed universe, the Badubotron, for a democratically accessible fee. And if Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” is defining a particularly wet hot American summer, Badu’s brand of feminine energy doesn’t call for a bucket and a mop. It requires a flame—to light the latest round of Badu Pussy incense, which sold out Tuesday in two minutes.

“You know what? It’s fun,” Badu said in her melodic Dallas drawl, speaking by phone an hour after the release. She enjoys watching the backend light up: “How many people are in the store, how many carts, how many sales,” she explained. “It’s a beautiful piece of art as it’s ebbing and flowing, and then everything just stops abruptly. It’s over. Two minutes!”

When word of Badu’s incense first surfaced back in February, a few weeks before a quick-selling drop, the internet relished its origin story. The London-based 10 Magazine described how she had snipped her underwear into tiny pieces and burned them, thereby conjuring the intoxicating effect. “Allegedly!” Badu said, laughing into the phone. For the record, she describes the incense as a “fruitier scent,” compared to next month’s Morning Wood, which will blend notes of cedar, palo santo, sandalwood, and ayahuasca resin. (Has she done ayahuasca? “Allegedly,” she said.) Meanwhile, this latest run of Badu Pussy, titled Entanglement, features five custom-designed editions, each in a run of 500. Here, she talks about the meme that inspired the collection, the five keys to Badoula Balance, and how Teyana Taylor’s birth plan is coming along.  

Vanity Fair: What does the word entanglement mean to you?

Erykah Badu: Entanglement came from Jada Pinkett Smith. A couple of weeks ago in July, she and Will Smith had out some of their business on live social media. She was in an affair with someone a few years back, and when Will asked her what happened, she said, “I was in an entanglement with August,” which is the guy's name. And Will said, “A what?” It became a meme, basically, for about five days until the next meme. At first, everybody had their own jokes about it, and then a meme came across my timeline on Twitter that had a picture of me and a picture of Jada Pinkett Smith, and the photo’s caption was: “If ‘This P*SSY will F*CK yo life Up’ was a person.” I responded with a quote. 

So on Black Twitter, this was all the rave for a good five days. Jada Pinkett Smith and Will did a Red Table Talk and talked about airing it out. They're beautiful people; they're very transparent. This is something that happened a long time ago in their life, but they decided to make it public—and, of course, when you make something public, it doesn't belong to you anymore. I [started working on] the packaging the next day. I like to work fast.

I can hear your voice saying, “You know I'm in a situation.”

Right [laughs]. I was in a situation. Jada was in an entanglement.

Was that song from Baduizm based on an entanglement?

Yes, it was called "Next Lifetime," and it was based on an entanglement, basically, but not a real one. It was based on a fictional entanglement. The chorus to the song is, “Now, what am I supposed to do when I want you in my world / how can I want you for myself when I'm already someone's girl?” In 1995, when I wrote that song, there were so many songs out about cheating and what your guy doesn't know won't hurt him, or what your girl doesn’t know. So I wanted to raise the frequency a little bit and say, “I guess I'll see you next lifetime.” 

One of the new incense boxes reads, “Reparations for Black Americans. More sun, exercise, nutrition, sleep, and meditation.” What do you see as the points of connection between those two things—reparations and wellness?

When we're talking about reparations for Black Americans, we're not so much talking about racism. We're talking about anti-Blackism. Because racism is something that is a world issue; anti-Blackism or anti-Blackness is an American issue—and it's a real issue. We all see it and we're all part of it and we're all aware of it. When I mentioned reparations for Black Americans, reparations can come in many forms. It means justice in some instances. It means some physical properties or change in legislation. It means acknowledgement of the ills that have been done so that we, as a country, can find closure and move on. Without some kind of reparations, it can't be done—just like any relationship. 

Along with that thinking comes a change in lifestyle as well for all people. There are food deserts all over the country in Black neighborhoods. We [sometimes] don't know anything about nutrition and exercise and enough sun because we're too busy trying to stay afloat and take care of the three basic needs: food, clothing, and shelter. Whatever form that food comes in, we have to take because we can't afford to, in many instances, upgrade our thinking.

That reminds me of another line from that album: “I have some food in my bag for you...I have some food for thought.” 

My thinking has never changed. My clothes have! But my thinking has never changed. So reparations, to me, for Black Americans will be our health, our sanity, our lungs, our pancreas, our stomachs, our guts, our brains—healing those things.

Jenna Wortham tweeted out a question last month: “favorite black owned incense company?” And there wasn't much out there. What power do you see in your particular incense?

The power I see in it is the parody of it. It's in alignment with the hood legends about my vagina [laughs]—because they say I have the power to change men's lives. They've never considered that my power did not lay between my thighs, but it laid between my ears, but it's OK. We'll go with it. And we'll also capitalize off of it.

Another box says, “Focus on empowering our youth. They're watching what we are watching.” Do you see that reflected in your own children?

Absolutely. I have a 16-year-old teen who is very engaged with TikTok and her social. And she is proud of what she sees—not just at home, but everywhere. I think that the children are the future. That's a cliché, but they really are. They are improvements on our design, and we cannot take that for granted. The experiences that we have collected should be enough to guide them in the right direction.

What are you doing to stay centered? Tell me about your day today in terms of wellness.

My everyday is those five doctors I mentioned. I wake up at 6-something—the sun rises at 6:50 a.m. I make sure I go outside and I stand in my grass. Everything's quiet, and I gaze at that sun while it comes up. I'll tweet if I have my phone near me in the morning and say, “Sunrise” or “Let's sun-gaze.” 

Doctor Sleep: It's more difficult, but I try to go to sleep at a good hour—between 10 p.m. and midnight, no later. It's difficult, though, because staring at these blue lights on this phone tricks the brain into thinking it's daytime. When your circadian rhythm is off, it means you don't go to bed with the birds and wake up with the birds. It means that you're up all night. It throws off the central nervous system, and then throws all the hormones out of whack, [like the ones that] are released to brighten your mood or to help your skin stay supple. 

Nutrition: I've been a vegetarian for 30 years. I've been vegan for 22 years. I don't like to say vegan. I'd rather say plant-based, electro-foodie, because I eat things that have lots of nutrients, including metals, oxygen—things that will feed the body so that it does what it needs to do, like any other machine. I'm a Lamborghini. I can't put no bullshit gas in here! Super, super, super premium unleaded. 

There's exercise—I box. I have a trainer who I have been with for about seven years now, and I'm serious about it. I haven't been able to work out [with them] because of quarantining and COVID, but we can still get online. I have a heavy bag in the house for moving around. You have to get enough exercise in. I think 15 minutes is sufficient, just as long as you're doing a little every day.

And five is the spirit. I nurture my spirit by meditating. You can sit and be quiet and let your thoughts do what they do. You're not trying to change anything. You're just letting it flow, and if you're breathing in accordance with it, you soon get in tune with nature. But walking meditation for me is [key]. I am, all day, discriminating between which thoughts are fruitless and which thoughts are not. I'm used to my head cracking the fuck up all day—because I want to laugh something, or I want to be envious of something, or I want to snap about something. I have this button that I push that says, “That's fruitless. Think about something else.” So I count my steps, or I'll look at trees, or I'm actually looking at someone's mouth while they're talking—stuff outside my brain. Because inside, there's a lot of memories and billions of atoms. Shit that can fuck everything up, if you let it! But I say, No, ma'am. 

How is your doula work lately? I hear that you are working with Teyana Taylor.

Teyana, I just left her. She lives in Atlanta, so I fly to Atlanta on the weekends. I was there for her for a full week last week, getting her birth plan together. As a doula, my work involves putting the birth team and birth plan together, creating a network for her. So I chose a midwife that I thought would work well with her in Atlanta. We walked around her property and chose several spaces that would be beautiful for birthing. We're building those things out aesthetically so that she feels comfortable and familiar within her own space. Part of her birth plan is the Badoula Balance program, which includes those five things that we just mentioned. I gave her a nutrition package that includes things that will nutracize or neutralize her body: mostly greens, teas, things to build her immune system and bring her protein levels up. Her hemoglobin levels have to be good and balanced. Her pH level has to stay in balance. Breathing exercises, most important. There are four to five meditations that I've taught her. We got up every morning at 6:10 a.m. in Atlanta. We sat with the sun, we would breathe, we would talk, we would cry, we would be. Teyana's in her seventh month, and it's a perfect time to realign.

This round of incense went fast. Do you see yourself having a permanent collection, or going into other personal-care products or makeup?

Absolutely. I hadn't thought about makeup yet. But an apothecary with skin care, herbs, stones, incense—all those things are nutrients. And with my apothecary, I will be able to spell that out to the customer so that she is aware of exactly what she is attracted to, because generally what we're attracted to is exactly what we need. 

When do you expect that apothecary to launch?

It's funny. How my life works is I make the announcement first, so let me announce it right now: The apothecary will launch in February. Or before! It will happen. And you're a part of it. You remember this moment.

In the meantime, I will step outside and bask in some afternoon sunlight. And I’ll look forward to Morning Wood. 

Me too. You know—after Badu Pussy, Morning Wood always comes. It's true!

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