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Erykah Badu: The love was overwhelming, I choked up

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ENCHANTING Erykah Badu. Picture: Rosetta Msimango
ENCHANTING Erykah Badu. Picture: Rosetta Msimango

Love, positive energy and evolving. This was the message that US singer Erykah Badu left her fans with at the DStv Delicious Festival on Sunday.

The most anticipated act of the night, and the festival as a whole, Ms Badu lived up to the expectation and then some.

Preforming classics such as “On & On”, “Bag Lady”, "Window Seat" and "Love of My Life", the neo soul pioneer showed that having not a released an album in years she still has the catalogue to draw in the biggest of crowds.

Her jaw-dropping entrance with the much-loved “Hello” song set the tone for what would be a goosebump-inducing set.

Badu had the crowd so under her spell with her soulful serenades that it all seemed to end much too soon. She had just about finished her set when the roaring crowd called her back onstage to perform “Tyrone”.

Erykah

At least 18 000 fans descended on the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit on Sunday to see the “analogue girl in the digital world”, who was a perfect end to the Heritage Day weekend.

Iconic performance by Neo Soul icon Erykah Badu at the sixth edition of the Dstv Delicious International Food and Music Festival at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Midrand. Picture: Rosetta Msimango/citypress

Speaking to media after her performance, Badu said she felt so overwhelmed by the love from the crowd that she teared up just a tad.

Erykah

“I was received like a kid coming home from college that made the family proud. It was so much love and appreciation; I was overwhelmed [and] kinda choked up a little bit,” she said.

Neo Soul songstress Erykah Badu rocked the sixth edition of the Dstv Delicious International Food and Music Festival at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Midrand. Picture: Rosetta Msimango/citypress

She added that she only hopes her South African fans got in return what they gave to her.

She ended her performance by urging her fans to never stop evolving, growing and loving.

The 6th annual two-day festival brought together food and music lovers alike and was, again, the year’s springtime outdoor music attraction in Johannesburg.

Other songstresses that graced the main stage were Lira, Simphiwe Dana and Amanda Black who performed on Saturday offering powerful performances as the leading women of the festival's celebration of Womandla.

Keeping the crowd on their feet were DJs over at the adjacent Vodacom Dance Arena stage where the likes of Grammy award-winning US DJ Louie Vega, Oskido, DJ Fresh, and Vinny Da Vinci brought out the Spring vibes.

Lira and Simphiwe Dana gracing the Dstv Delicious stage at the Dstv Delicious International Food and Music Festival at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Midrand. The two day festival is headlining neo - soul icon Erykah Badu

Food lovers were spoiled for choice at the Delicious Mile, the festival’s gourmet street food market, and at many other food stalls.

Despite the variety of food and drink on offer, there were a few grievances over the long queues, many of which were due to malfunctioning speed point machines.

Regardless of the hiccups in between, the festival was definitely one for the books.

Steller performance by Amanda Black at the sixth edition of the Dstv Delicious International Food and Music Festival at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Midrand. The two-day festival is headlined by neo soul icon Erykah Badu. Picture: Rosetta Msimango/citypress
Lira gets the crowd going at the sixth edition of the Dstv Delicious International Food and Music Festival at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Midrand. The two day festival is headlined by international artists such as neo-soul icon Erykah Badu, Jazz band D'influence and many more. Picture: Rosetta Msimango/citypress
Simphiwe Dana gave a show stopping performance at the sixth edition of the Dstv Delicious International Food and Music Festival at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Midrand. The two day festival is headlining neo - soul icon Erykah Badu
Dstv Delicious International Food and Music Festival. Picture: Rosetta Msimango/citypres
American Singer Erykah Badu. Picture: Rosetta Msimango/citypress
American Singer Erykah Badu. Picture: Rosetta Msimango/citypress

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