Erykah Badu has been a doula for about 20 years, and was preparing for her first multiple birth of twins with mother Summer Walker when Vogue’s Chioma Nnadi connected with the certified Reiki master in her South-Dallas childhood home.

Alex Harrington styles the photo shoot for The Second Coming of Erykah Badu, showcasing the four-time Grammy winner wearing a metallic Marni x Erykah Badu coat on the cover and other unique fashion artworks from their new co-designed collection.

Those of us who know Erykah Badu indeed consider her to be a shamanic priestess of a higher order. Both her interview and video tour of her private spaces confirm that the spiritual persona suits her. In multiple aspects, Erykah Badu has always been lighter than air . . . ethereal and spiritual but also possessed of ancient wisdom.

DJ and producer Questlove, who first saw Badu at the 1996 Soul Train Awards in Los Angeles, reflects:

“She had on the tallest turban I’ve ever seen in my life,” he says. “It was like she was hiding a three-year-old standing on her head, that’s how tall her headwrap was. I was just transfixed.”