Erykah Badu's Essence in Rahim Fortune's 2020 Portrait
Fortune’s 2020 black ands white portrait of Badu stands out amongst many in its ability to tell us who she is.
Rahim Fortune's black and white portrait of Erykah Badu, published in The New York Times in June 2020, captures everything that makes people fall in love with Badu. Fortune perfectly recreated her quirky style, from her.
Fortune, a fine art and documentary photographer who has published two books of work entitled Oklahoma (2020) and I Can't Stand to See You Cry (2021), always embraces his subject's Blackness and, in turn, asks you to embrace yours. Fortune captures the true essence of his subject which offers the audience a view into their humanity. And in this photo, he does so without the use of color.
Badu has, if not the most intriguing and individualistic style of any artist. Badu's style has changed her wearing African prints early in her career like the orange hair wrap she wore in the Other Side Of The Game music video in 2009 to her jean overalls paired with heels that she wore to the BET Honors in 2013 to her infamous hats, an iconic look she brought to the 2021 Met Ball. The white gloves she is wearing in the photo set another trendsetting look; they are similar to gloves worn by ushers who greet people at Black churches. They capture the essence of Black church culture and her individual style.
Badu surprised us by wearing a 1920s-style pantsuit with a bow tie for the first time in an editorial photo. The pantsuit that Badu wears in this photo seems inspired by Janelle Monáe's style. Monáe is known to wear suits in her music videos and red-carpet looks. Badu wearing a bow tie with her pants suit for the first time shows us that she still has surprises up her sleeves when it comes to her fashion choices. During her Unfollow tour in the summer of 2023, her creativity could be seen in every outfit she wore, from a colorful oversized coat during her first song to the light blue leggings and white baby tee she ended the concert wearing. Badu wore her large individual box micro cosmic floor length braids that she has been doing herself since 1994. She always amazes her audience with her unique style, and maybe her next surprise will be an album since she has not released an album since 2005.
Badu always makes a statement with her hairpieces and hairstyles, and her afro in this photo is no different. From her knee-long braids to her hair wraps, Badu's hairstyles have always inspired young Black girls to embrace the versatility of their hair. Her afro in this photo is another hairstyle that encourages Black girls to embrace every hairstyle they can. It comes as no surprise that Badu styled herself for this distinctive photo.
The simplicity of the black and white photo challenges the norm of what a photo of Badu looks like. Many of the images we see of Badu are in color, which allows us to see how her outfits speak to her identity, but the simple black and white gives the viewer an authentic look into who Badu is. By using black and white, Fortune encourages the viewer to engage with Badu's facial expression and take in the beauty she has to offer. Fortune's technique makes this a unique and pioneering photo of Badu.
