- Erykah is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical stylings and sense of fashion.
- Erykah is known as the "First Lady of Neo-Soul" or the "Queen of Neo".
- Early in her career, Erykah was recognizable for wearing very large and colorful headwraps.
- For her musical sensibilities, she has often been compared to jazz great Billie Holiday.
- Erykah was a core member of the Soulquarians, and is also an actress having appeared in a number of films playing a range of supporting roles in movies such as Blues Brothers 2000, The Cider House Rules, and House of D
- Erykahr mother raised her and her brother and sister alone.
- To provide for her family, the children's grandmother often helped in looking after them while Erykah's mother, Kollen Maria Gipson (Wright), performed as an actress in theatrical productions.
- Influenced by her mother, Erykah had her first taste of show business at the age of 4, singing and dancing with her mother at the Dallas Theatre Centre.
- By the age of 14, Erykah was free-styling for a local radio station alongside such talent as Roy Hargrove.
- In her early youth, she decided to change the spelling of her name from Erica to Erykah, as she firmly believed her original name to be her 'slave' name. The term 'kah' signifies the inner self.
- Erykah is also an African name for the 10th born child used for the Ashanti people in Ghana.
- Additionally in a letter written to Erykah from her father, "Erykah in Arabic means truth and light...good choice kid."
- Erykah currently resides in Dallas, Texas.
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