Erykah Badu has never shied away from conversations about her love life, but she recently shared a video about her “boyfriends” in response to a question about what makes her happy.
On Jan. 2, the neo-soul singer shared a video with her fans on Instagram, which shows her moving and stretching to “Workin’ Day and Night” by Michael Jackson. She is seen having a deep, long stretch and briefly dancing outside in what appears to be a driveway.
The 52-year-old “Tyrone” singer sported floor-length box braids in the video, paired with the names of her “5 boyfriends.”
She captioned the post, “E, What makes you happy ? Me: my 5 boyfriends – when they are balanced : Dopamine, Endorphins, Oxytocin, Cortisol, Progesterone & Adrenalin[e].”
Badu’s “5 boyfriends” are natural hormones produced in the body that are known to stimulate feelings of well-being. Fans reacted to the video on Instagram and joked about the singer’s “boyfriends.”
“Gurl that’s 6 boyfriends actually,” noted one fan, while another joked, “Guess she didn’t do her math.”
“The math ain’t mathin Ms. Badu, but I get it,” added a third, while one individual focused on her ageless beauty, “52 where…???” Taking a deeper meaning to her caption, one person wrote, “Mood don’t limit yourself to one boyfriend lol.”
Last March, Badu shared a message on X saying, “I will not settle for anything less but my KING. Where are you ?”
Many could assume that she has been on the hunt for her “King” after several high-profile relationships with the likes of Outkast vocalist André Lauren Benjamin, aka André 3000, and rappers The D.O.C. and Jay Electronica.
Badu and André 3000 share a 26-year-old son, Seven Sirius Benjamin, and many have suggested she “spin the block” and rekindle their past romance. She also shares a 19-year-old daughter, Puma Curry, with D.O.C. and a 14-year-old daughter, Mars Merkaba Thedford, with Jay Electronica.
During a candid interview with “The Breakfast Club” last February, the “Bag Lady” singer spoke about her past relationships and how she ended up with three children by three different men.
“I didn’t know, no one would expect to have three baby daddies, who plans that? But, when those things start to happen, you don’t stop living,” she said. “You continue to grow and live and learn, and make the best out of those situations. Who would wanna do that? You know, in this judgmental society.”
The Grammy Award-winning artist added that marriage “doesn’t fit” her nor does our patriarchal society.
“Let’s be transparent, you know, for my sisters out there. We fall in love, you know, love is a chemical thing,” Badu explained. “We fall in love. Really, I think God makes us fall in love just long enough to get pregnant so that we can go ahead and procreate, keep the race going and then that dies down and then everything else is on you, depending on your culture, next step is marriage, or the next step is another mate, the next step is whatever.”
She continued, “In our culture, the next step is supposed to be marriage. It doesn’t fit everybody. It doesn’t fit me. … I am ambitious. I am the breadwinner for my whole entire clan, my family. I’m the franchise.”
Badu has also been romantically linked to recording artists JaRon The Secret and Common.
