A neo-soul legend was put in the hot seat, and her witty response is a much-needed comedic relief. Erykah Badu‘s baby daddies are a hot topic as the acclaimed artist was a guest on the latest episode of Drink Champs, where she was asked to choose between two of hip-hop’s lyrical greats, one of whom she happens to have a child with.
The humorous moment came when the hosts of the August 30th episode of Drink Champs asked Badu to choose the better rapper between The Roots‘ frontman Black Thought and André 3000. You may recall that Erykah and Andre share a child named Seven Sirus Benjamin. Badu, known for her quick wit, joked, “Now you’re messing with my child support,” before adding that she thought the crew would have her pick between “two of the baby daddies.” Badu’s romantic relationships have often been a hot topic on social media, and it appears the singer is aware.
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Badu’s choice, however, was a tough one. She acknowledged that it would be “hard” to decide between the two master rhymers, but she ultimately sided with her former partner.
“Of course, I’m gonna have to say I say Andre. I follow him a little bit tighter than I do Tariq,” she said, referring to Black Thought by his birth name, Tariq Trotter. “I lean more toward the creative side of art and I am inspired so much by that. So I’m going to have to say 3000.” Despite picking André 3000, she made it clear that the opinion meant no disrespect, adding, “Black Thought, you know I got love.”
Erykah Badu’s Exes & Baby Daddies: The Recap
Erykah Badu’s candidness about her personal life is nothing new. She has consistently been open about her relationships and her family. Apart from her oldest child with André 3000, the five-time Grammy winner has two other children with two other artists. She shares a 21-year-old daughter, Puma Curry, with rapper The D.O.C., and her youngest child, a daughter named Mars Merkaba Thedford, 16, with rapper Jay Electronica.
Her romantic history is a who’s who of hip-hop royalty. From 2000 to 2002, the icon publicly dated rapper Common, with whom she collaborated on the Grammy-winning song “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop).” Their partnership inspired Common so much that he dedicated his fifth album, Electric Circus, to her. Badu was last linked to animated television producer and voice actor Carl Jones, who famously played Thugnificant in the former Adult Swim show The Boondocks.
During the episode, she also gave a glimpse into her own artistic history, revealing she used to go by the emcee name “Apples” and is still open to dropping a rap album one day, though she acknowledges that as an MC, “you got to keep up with the weather. You got to—It’s a [current]. There’s a feeling.”
In addition to her Drink Champs episode, you can catch the songstress on tour soon! The Mama’s Gun tour will begin in October 2025 and hit major cities across the country through the end of the year.
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