The new show, hosted by Ebro Darden, kicks off on Election Day (Nov. 3) with Badu's "Now Breathe Like It" playlist.
Erykah Badu, like many Americans, is feeling a heightened sense of urgency due to the presidential election. Thankfully, she found a way to channel that election anxiety: by joining Apple Music's Ebro Darden on his new show The Message -- a playlist and interview series that aims to amplify Black voices and further the dialogue about the unrest and inequalities in the United States and abroad.
For the first episode, which will be released on Election Day (Nov. 3), Badu put together a playlist of songs called "Now Breathe Like It" to inspire raw emotion, including Ramp's "Come Into Knowledge," Earth, Wind & Fire's "Africano," James Brown's "King Heroin," Donny Hathaway's "Lord Help Me" and Quincy Jones' "Everything Must Change."
"These are songs that I truly and really wake up to every day, that I play in the car when I need it," she tells Darden. "It's the vibe for me, it's the freak for me, it's what uplifts me or brings me to tears or makes me very, very, very sad. The kind of sad that you want to feel when there's some good music in your spirit. The tears that bring joy. These are real for me. And sharing them with you is a very personal and real thing for me."