Hmm. So it turns out the word is pretty easy to define after all. Thanks, Ari, for letting us know its musical origin through the one and only Erykah Badu.
We've been saying stay woke in our communities since my grandparents were infants. It probably even goes further back. It has endured with a specific meaning for almost 100 years. But in just 2 years, certain folks have taken it and turned it into something unrecognizable.
@@IndieButterflyWarrior yep... A couple years ago one of the GOP strategists said that that was their plan. They explained that even CRT was going to be used to muddy the waters. They are aware that their supporters won't be doing any background reading to educate themselves, so it's very easy to lead the "not sheeple" crowd to whatever pasture and stream you want them to eat and drink from.
I just love how Ms.Badu explained the meaning without stuttering, stammering , or hesitation. That's what happens when you know what you're talking about and not assuming!!
She shouldn't have to stutter or stammer or hesitate because she knows exactly what it means. The only ones who need to stutter and stammer and hesitate are the ones who need time to make something up.
She’s lying…cuz if it meant that she would never involve it into politics if it had something to do with nature and if you peep body language…she started to look away to think of answers
Ms. Badu is absolutely right..."woke" was highjacked by racist fascists right and is being used negatively towards people of color. But they don't know...do they ❓🤔 hmmm
That is the nature of language if it is alive and vital. English has become the universal language precisely because it can change so fast. It can keep up with the world. If a language does not change, it becomes a dead language, like Latin.
@@PoetGorman some words are not meant to be changed. especially words that have deep history & meaning behind them. it’s like taking the word “freedom” & changing the meaning to make it like oppression.
She's absolutely right I feel like they mean black as well or minority they use their words to HATE and She has seen through their bull and so have alot of us
Yep. When they see one black actor in a sea of 70 white actors, they scream “WOKE!”. When they see a black character in a video game, they scream “WOKE”. When they see LGBT people on TV, they scream “WOKE”. When they see anything that isn’t a white straight Christian, they scream “WOKE”. But also when they see something they don’t like, they scream “WOKE!” They’ll label vegetables as “WOKE!” soon too
means being aware, staying aware, aware to your environment, in everything. That's about how I always took it, and I don't see how the far-right finds it such a big word to understand.
@@-danR That's not what it's about. The things "wokeness" stand for aren't necessarily justified. It's really a slang word now, and it's very real. They see the dangers of people pushing radical, ideological agendas, and that is what is referred to as "wokeness". You can keep saying "i don't know what's bad about addressing social injustices", but you really don't get the point. We are way beyond of "justice", it's pure delusion and that is exactly what they call "woke".
JUST LIKE HOW WE FLIPPED THA "N" WORD ON THEM WHICH NOW TO US MEANS MY HOMIE OR BEST FRIEND OR FAMILY & THEN YOU HAVE THEM LISTENING TO OUR 🎶 MUSIC ^ TRYIN' TO BE KOOL & ASK YOU,"CAN I SAY THAT WORD TOO BUDDY"=NO ✊️😎💯💪✌️😁😅😂
@@seewhativescene THERE'S A DIFFERENCE IN HOW WE USE & SAY IT THO' & FLIPPED AN INSULT INTO BROTHERLY-FAMILY THANG BETWEEN US, WHICH THEY CAN'T SAY ✊️😎
Her energy force breaks through all time and space. She is simply amazing. I felt those words pulsate through my phone. I don't even know what else to say except I'm grateful for Ms. Badu's presence here on earth.
1:46 - I love how she was vibing to her own 15 year old song like it was the first time she heard it. Nothing more satisfying than coming back to your own art after 5-10 years and still being in love with it. So smart, wise and gifted. Badu forever.
Love Erykah! Have had the pleasure of hanging out with her a few times over the years with a friend that used to play with her before going solo. She is one of the realist, most down to earth people I have ever met. Learning now that she coined being woke, amazed! But not surprised! Much Love!🤘🖖
Woke to me means being aware and pay attention to everything. When you can see what is going on in the world we’re living in. You can distort reality all you want, but the reality is being aware, alert, and not being afraid to know what’s right and what’s really going on.
TELL IT, Ms. Badu, and thank you, Ari. It has aggravated me to no end to see the term "woke "co-opted, misused, and marginalized in contexts that have nothing to do with how it was originally intended from Erykah Badu and the culture- by people who have no clue what they are talking about or the meaning behind it. I have literally gotten to the point that whenever I hear someone use the word "woke" I ask them directly to define it. It should come as no surprise that my requests are usually met with crickets.
I use woke for those who claim to be aware but are sadly in a stupor of stupidity. Those that insist on letting males with a dress (or a self identifying womanhood) dominating women's sports or female safe spaces (bathrooms or changing rooms) are not 'woke' even though they say they are. That's how I define woke - as a sarcastic epithet. Now as someone who understands what a women is, I wonder how you identify what a women is - Please define it - and no crickets, please!
Christopher Rufo and the Manhattan Institutes' plans have worked well through Trump and DeSantis. The phony CRT outrage and banning of free speech has been entrenched. The crazies are encouraged to 'run over' protestors with impunity, run for local school boards, city councilmen, mayors etc.
Same!! I’m always like “what does the word woke mean” & they always say the most ridiculous bs like “liberals” 😒😒 LIBERALS??? Not even CLOSE. Smh... they really need to not use words they don’t know the meaning to. For example “foshizzle my nizzle” getting that white woman fired. They need to stop saying words they don’t know the meaning to for sure!
Finally!!!! Thank you Erykah. I've been getting so tired of people misusing this term. Stop stealing culture and twisting context. It makes me sick. Now people who are not of the culture are using "woke" in the office or treating it as a trend. The term has been around even before Ms Badu.. Now people are out here attacking a persons self awareness because they are too lazy to research meaning 🙄
The meaning has been corrupted. Acknowledging that will set you at ease. Like it or not, woke is not a positive thing anymore. I share your pain as someone who is aware. Reality needs to be accepted. Move on. The word means something else now. The lessons and values have not.
@@AlwaysAwesome001 is it? I thought that you people knew exactly what CRT and WOKEISM means? You people still have not provided any information regarding either yet? Hmmm
@@whicker59 I'm amazed at how you people have this white victimhood of something that you don't have any clue what it is. How does that work? What happened to the leadership in your community? Are their words that powerful or are you just that weak?
@Miss Understanding I know, right? She sees something good in Hitler. A true positive influencer right there. I want her influencing people as much as I want Ye influencing people; 0.2 percent.
@@heavensophia9382 I don't remember seeing you doing anything. No.....I have not. Tell me how DeSantis is telling white people to be scared of something that he can't explain?
Thank you Ari Melber for letting these people who continues to use a word, that they can’t even give its meaning!! Thank you Erykah, for educating the people who needs to be schooled!! Stop using a word you have no idea of the meaning, behind it!!
@@snoopyfan1476 or like when white people are afraid of WOKEISM and get on Fox News and freeze up like they are buffering when asked for the definition of WOKEISM?
Erykah Badu is an amazing and profound Artist with a powerful voice, she understands women, and pride in self and awareness and YES, yes!! Being Woke…. The only shame is the people who fear woke , because , Woke means Knowing.. woke means awareness, woke means being awake at the wheel of your life!!!! Fools who fight Woke, FEAR KNOWLEDGE, because Knowledge is still POWER!
So glad she finally broke this down, I been telling people this is where the word originated, it's been turned perverted to make people feel bad about knowing the truth, all this other woke stuff is just a way to dismiss it and make people feel bad about knowing what's really going on..no different than narcissism or any other words that's become social media popular to just label anybody.
The word started within the Black culture in the 1930's and has been said forever among Black People. Erykah did not invent this word or its meaning. We've been saying it for decades.
It's actually in the Bible as well. As King Soloman said in Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun. 1 Thessalonians 5:6 [Paul] says don't sleep like others, stay awake and sober.
She did not invent the term woke and it means something els now. It’s termed as sensitive politically correct people. She has great music but her points are moot.
@@Goredbirds82 according to the FBI, there's been a drastic rise in domestic terrorist threats caused by white supremacists groups since the election of Trump. Why?
@@Goredbirds82 according to the past 2022 midterm elections, most white people are responsible for the rise of rhetoric of white victimhood towards CRT and WOKEISM which most white people have no clear definition of. Why?
@@jimeagle5509 it's preposterous that your people are feeding you white victimhood of something that they can't give you the definition of. Are they pimps?
"It is this belief in a power larger than myself and other than myself which allows me to venture into the unknown and even the unknowable." ~ Maya Angelou (1928-2014), American poet, writer, singer, and activist
@QUIET STORM she's actually not one of the 1st to put it to music, but I do think she is one of the catalyst who made the word more prevalent to main stream media.
I love how she says there are no solutions in this album. Just observations. Sometimes you don't have the answers, but that doesn't mean you can't acknowledge the issues. ❤ Love her
Erykah Badu is a legend 🙌🏽 My mom played her music when I was growing up, and I am still a fan to this day. I love her even more now. Thank you, strong woman! ❤
Erykah I am loving your calmness in the face of these ignorant people who simply won’t call a thing anything. You’re refreshing and limitless with your reaching and teaching.
It's sad how such an inspirational and positive concept can be turned into such hateful and negative uses. Apparently, people are not allowed to "be aware" and there are those who want people to continue living with blinders in a shallow, boxed-in world they try to define.
It saddens me because I’ve been called woke my whole life and now it’s a bad thing… I have very high awareness of everything around me. I’ve always been that way and there are many people like me who feel personally attacked by what has transpired in this country so disappointing when we tell you what it means and you still don’t want to believe it that really sucks.
She's very smart. Her words speaks the truth. Her music spreads awareness that every human being deserves to live, breathe the same air and to be treated with respect. Unfortunately there are people who don't share this kind of values . The earth belongs to everybody , for human race to live in. I fear that some leaders of the world tried to eradicate others because of the color of their skin, or they go against tyranny. Peace is long overdue.
@Jeff First of all Jeff, stop liking your own comments to feel validated....pathetic. You've been indoctrinated to believe that the way other people choose to live their lives somehow impacts or threatens you. sonwhat!You should be more concerned about living your own life, rather than how others choose to live their lives. So what! Seriously, you are devouring all the BS and hatred toward anyone who is, or believes differently than you. I feel so sorry for you, for feeling so threatened and scared of people, who do you no harm. What a weak and pathetic soul to have to put others down to feel better about themselves.
I will never forget seeing her at the Haight Street fair a few years ago. She literally performed out of no where on the stage at Haight and Ashbury. I was shook and it made my whole life :)
I adore Erykah Badu! 😍 She is a woman who has used her voice and her power to bring change and awareness to the world. I first discovered her in 1997. I was a 41-year old, white teacher in the Midwest (not her typical target demographic). Her first album spoke to me like nothing I had ever heard before. 26 years later, I still remember how I felt listening to it for the first time. It doesn't surprise me she coined the term "woke" to describe how people should be living their lives in Awareness and with concern for their fellow man. Thank you, Erykah, for what you have meant to me and all your fans. ✌🤟✊
@@jimeagle5509 your people create the reason why woke is necessary. Didn't your people who are anti woke responsible for the Buffalo shootings? El Paso shootings? Pittsburgh synagogue shootings? Dylan Roof?
@@jimeagle5509 a more woke society may not have created such an alienated individual who felt the need to lash out and attack their neighbors. Your ignorance is astounding.
This interview absolutely needed to be done because it is absolutely annoying to hear it misused by individuals who want to villanize intelligence & the ability to think critically. To say that you're an enemy of of woke-ness means you are literally saying that you prefer to remain unaware, ignorant, incompetent & ill-prepared. Ignorance isn't bliss, it can be debilitating & render you powerless. Thank you Ari!
Erykah Badu has 3 kids by 3 different black males, none of whom married her. She's also very male identified. Seems like she's the one who needs to take her own advice and "stay woke".
"When we drop fear, we can draw nearer to people, we can draw nearer to the earth, we can draw nearer to all the heavenly creatures that surround us." ~ bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins), American writer and activist
You can tell by reading some of these comments that people really have no idea of the history of Ms. Badu prior to this mini clip 😢 keep her as a hidden gem to the black culture bc everyone is not deserving of her ❤
Ms. Badu is certainly a gem, that ALL people can benefit and learn from..being "deserving" is not based on skin color. I appreciate her beautiful voice and soul and appreciate that she is not "hidden" from someone like me, who is not a member of the "black culture."
TRU THAT TRUE THAT!! I WATCH ARI MELBER MONDAY THRU FRIDAY & WHEN I SEEN THAT SHE WUZ ON I SAID,"I GOTTA CHECK & 👀 SEE WHAT HIS COMMENT SECTION LOOKS LIKE TODAY WHENEVER IT COMES ON UA-cam ✊️😎✌️😁
With all due respect... Black American folk singer-songwriter Huddie Ledbetter, a.k.a. Lead Belly, used the phrase "stay woke" as part of a spoken afterward to a 1938 recording of his song "Scottsboro Boys", which tells the story of nine black teenagers and young men falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931.
Yeah thank you. I'm like I love you girl, but you know you weren't the first to say stay woke. That has been in the black lexicon for decades. With you pinpointing the actual origin
It IS about time that someone said this verbally. The term "stay woke" has been a positive one most of my life. I remember it in music from my teenage years in the 80's. "The phrase “woke” and to “stay woke” is not new - it began appearing in the 1940s and was first used by African Americans to “literally mean becoming woken up or sensitised to issues of justice”, says linguist and lexicographer Tony Thorne."
If these sad small minded "politicians" could have but a modicum of the strength and wisdom of Ms. Badu, imagine the things they could accomplish. How much good they could do.
It's sad to see how people would hate for someone to stay woke and view it as bad. It really not a movement but basically keeping your eyes,ears and thinking rather than believing in what people tell you.
I asked my 86 year old mom what woke means. It didn't take her a second and she said to be awake and aware of what is going on around you. I have to give her credit for being a liberal old white lady 😊
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
This is the definition of woke from someone who knows what the definition of woke is.
She's so aware of the injustices to all...and not a speciesist, she's vegan. ❤️🐣
All is possible through heightened awareness and examination of Life in universe @Ra Nu ⚖
Hmm. So it turns out the word is pretty easy to define after all. Thanks, Ari, for letting us know its musical origin through the one and only Erykah Badu.
yeah, she sure is woke: Erykah Badu ‘I saw something good in Hitler"
@@jasonbrown467 That was Kanye West.
We've been saying stay woke in our communities since my grandparents were infants. It probably even goes further back. It has endured with a specific meaning for almost 100 years. But in just 2 years, certain folks have taken it and turned it into something unrecognizable.
Absolutely correct 💯
I used to Love her- Common Sense, that's how I view that word and it's bastardization by those who've bastardized us
THANK YOU!!!
"Woke" was used during Jim Crowe and before the Civil Rights Movement. This is proof why it's dangerous to start banning books.
We need to take it back! They say woke like it's a bad thing but embracing the real meaning of woke empowers us to keep fighting the good fight!!
THANK YOU! I've been saying this. DECADES...FOREVER...good God.
“….it doesn’t belong to us anymore.” They took a word they didn’t understand. PREACH ERYKAH !!!!
Oh, they understood it alright and weaponised the heck out of it
@@IndieButterflyWarrior I don't think they understand much, including the modern dictionary.
@@IndieButterflyWarrior facts
that's
what they do
@@IndieButterflyWarrior yep... A couple years ago one of the GOP strategists said that that was their plan. They explained that even CRT was going to be used to muddy the waters. They are aware that their supporters won't be doing any background reading to educate themselves, so it's very easy to lead the "not sheeple" crowd to whatever pasture and stream you want them to eat and drink from.
I just love how Ms.Badu explained the meaning without stuttering, stammering , or hesitation. That's what happens when you know what you're talking about and not assuming!!
💯
She shouldn't have to stutter or stammer or hesitate because she knows exactly what it means. The only ones who need to stutter and stammer and hesitate are the ones who need time to make something up.
This
She’s lying…cuz if it meant that she would never involve it into politics if it had something to do with nature and if you peep body language…she started to look away to think of answers
All of this! 🎉
Hmm, “Woke no longer belongs to us”, & “I think he means black” . Ari that was such a great package you put together. Love this show so much
Ms. Badu is absolutely right..."woke" was highjacked by racist fascists right and is being used negatively towards people of color. But they don't know...do they ❓🤔 hmmm
KEEP COMIN' BACK ✊️😎
Ari breaking down barriers in his own ways, highlighting the value of communication and understanding
@@seewhativescene I love him! Is he single?
You are thanking a white man, for the words of a black woman?
“Once something goes out into the world, it takes a life of its own.”
~Erykah Badu
That is the nature of language if it is alive and vital. English has become the universal language precisely because it can change so fast. It can keep up with the world. If a language does not change, it becomes a dead language, like Latin.
@@PoetGorman Whats the purpose of your paragraph??
@@PoetGorman some words are not meant to be changed. especially words that have deep history & meaning behind them. it’s like taking the word “freedom” & changing the meaning to make it like oppression.
She's absolutely right I feel like they mean black as well or minority they use their words to HATE and She has seen through their bull and so have alot of us
They did the same thing with the term family values. They need to hide behind these pleasant sounding terms politically as cover for ugly bigotry.
Wasn't it a woke tyranny that just shot up a school?
Yep. When they see one black actor in a sea of 70 white actors, they scream “WOKE!”. When they see a black character in a video game, they scream “WOKE”. When they see LGBT people on TV, they scream “WOKE”. When they see anything that isn’t a white straight Christian, they scream “WOKE”.
But also when they see something they don’t like, they scream “WOKE!” They’ll label vegetables as “WOKE!” soon too
@@BigBadJerryRogersTruth! I believe their choosing the word woke was by design.
Of course, that's what angry racist politicians mean.
Ms. Badu got it and we get it! Ari, an absolutely phenomenal interview 👏👏.
She got right to the heart of the matter, didn't she?
means being aware, staying aware, aware to your environment, in everything.
That's about how I always took it, and I don't see how the far-right finds it such a big word to understand.
100% 👏🏻👏🏻
Absolutely!
@@-danR That's not what it's about. The things "wokeness" stand for aren't necessarily justified. It's really a slang word now, and it's very real. They see the dangers of people pushing radical, ideological agendas, and that is what is referred to as "wokeness". You can keep saying "i don't know what's bad about addressing social injustices", but you really don't get the point. We are way beyond of "justice", it's pure delusion and that is exactly what they call "woke".
She nailed it. It just means being aware. Nothing more and nothing less.
Being aware and being PRESENT !
Some definitions change over time. "Woke" did.
@@chipgaasche4933 Hijacking a term to make it a political statement still means aware.
@@chipgaasche4933 woke didn't change, it was co-opted and twisted
It’s hilarious when people use the term woke as an insult when in fact, it’s a compliment ❤
by using it in a derogatory manner, all they are doing is using one word to tell the world, they're hateful, ignorant, and bigoted
The right has weaponized the word, without even understanding the definition.
JUST LIKE HOW WE FLIPPED THA "N" WORD ON THEM WHICH NOW TO US MEANS MY HOMIE OR BEST FRIEND OR FAMILY & THEN YOU HAVE THEM LISTENING TO OUR 🎶 MUSIC ^ TRYIN' TO BE KOOL & ASK YOU,"CAN I SAY THAT WORD TOO BUDDY"=NO ✊️😎💯💪✌️😁😅😂
Hate to be that guy but imo N word would be preferred than these antiwoke laws and fighting words of civilwar @@O-SNOOPY-SNOOP
@@seewhativescene THERE'S A DIFFERENCE IN HOW WE USE & SAY IT THO' & FLIPPED AN INSULT INTO BROTHERLY-FAMILY THANG BETWEEN US, WHICH THEY CAN'T SAY ✊️😎
Her energy force breaks through all time and space. She is simply amazing. I felt those words pulsate through my phone. I don't even know what else to say except I'm grateful for Ms. Badu's presence here on earth.
Love you Badu!!+❤
I am in total agreement, Sis...💗
She is one beautiful spirit. Truly a blessing and a voice for our time.
1:46 - I love how she was vibing to her own 15 year old song like it was the first time she heard it. Nothing more satisfying than coming back to your own art after 5-10 years and still being in love with it. So smart, wise and gifted. Badu forever.
it is a dude not a she
@@patrick9654 Patrick, we all know you've never been with a woman, so how would u know what Badu is? Go and sing Dr Seuss tunes in your moms basement.
Love Erykah! Have had the pleasure of hanging out with her a few times over the years with a friend that used to play with her before going solo. She is one of the realist, most down to earth people I have ever met. Learning now that she coined being woke, amazed! But not surprised! Much Love!🤘🖖
AND,,, SHE'S QUITE GIFTED AS WE SAY,,,EASY ON THE EYE'S!!!!😊
@@patrick9654 WOW!!!! PLEASE TELL ME THAT YOUR NOT THAT STUPID/GULLABLE!!!!
Woke to me means being aware and pay attention to everything. When you can see what is going on in the world we’re living in. You can distort reality all you want, but the reality is being aware, alert, and not being afraid to know what’s right and what’s really going on.
That's literally what she is saying.
The older I get the more I appreciate Eryka Badu, not just for her artistry and talent but for her INTELLECT as well.
Incredibly intelligent.
Same.
I totally agree
She is so intelligent that she is 53, single, with 3 baby daddies, and paying a 27 year old to ram her 😂😂😂. What an example
"The Bell Curve" by author Charles A. Murray.
TELL IT, Ms. Badu, and thank you, Ari. It has aggravated me to no end to see the term "woke "co-opted, misused, and marginalized in contexts that have nothing to do with how it was originally intended from Erykah Badu and the culture- by people who have no clue what they are talking about or the meaning behind it. I have literally gotten to the point that whenever I hear someone use the word "woke" I ask them directly to define it. It should come as no surprise that my requests are usually met with crickets.
I use woke for those who claim to be aware but are sadly in a stupor of stupidity. Those that insist on letting males with a dress (or a self identifying womanhood) dominating women's sports or female safe spaces (bathrooms or changing rooms) are not 'woke' even though they say they are. That's how I define woke - as a sarcastic epithet. Now as someone who understands what a women is, I wonder how you identify what a women is - Please define it - and no crickets, please!
Christopher Rufo and the Manhattan Institutes' plans have worked well through Trump and DeSantis. The phony CRT outrage and banning of free speech has been entrenched. The crazies are encouraged to 'run over' protestors with impunity, run for local school boards, city councilmen, mayors etc.
Thank you Ms. Badu for sharing truth with all of us. Your artistry speaks volumes. And for those who understand the true meaning...STAY AWAKE!!!
Same!! I’m always like “what does the word woke mean” & they always say the most ridiculous bs like “liberals” 😒😒 LIBERALS??? Not even CLOSE. Smh... they really need to not use words they don’t know the meaning to. For example “foshizzle my nizzle” getting that white woman fired. They need to stop saying words they don’t know the meaning to for sure!
Finally!!!! Thank you Erykah. I've been getting so tired of people misusing this term. Stop stealing culture and twisting context. It makes me sick. Now people who are not of the culture are using "woke" in the office or treating it as a trend. The term has been around even before Ms Badu.. Now people are out here attacking a persons self awareness because they are too lazy to research meaning 🙄
The meaning has been corrupted. Acknowledging that will set you at ease. Like it or not, woke is not a positive thing anymore. I share your pain as someone who is aware. Reality needs to be accepted. Move on. The word means something else now. The lessons and values have not.
I think the definition has changed. Just like all the other words people are changing now days.
Cultures are often shared (Michelle Obama's strait hair anyone??)..and the definition of woke has changed. Keep up .
Stay woke. That’s it and that’s all. Love Ms. Badu. 💯❤❤❤❤
Your woke ship is sinking. 🤣
Go WOKE, go BROKE
@@AlwaysAwesome001 is it? I thought that you people knew exactly what CRT and WOKEISM means? You people still have not provided any information regarding either yet? Hmmm
@@whicker59 isn't it go right, go white?
@@whicker59 I'm amazed at how you people have this white victimhood of something that you don't have any clue what it is. How does that work? What happened to the leadership in your community? Are their words that powerful or are you just that weak?
Awesome artist, true positive influencer, Erykah is the real thing!Thanks!
Right, such a positive person that she saw something good in Hitler just like Ye sees good things about Hitler.
@@frankbandera6591 isn't Hitler and Putin one of your people?
@Miss Understanding I know, right? She sees something good in Hitler. A true positive influencer right there. I want her influencing people as much as I want Ye influencing people; 0.2 percent.
If you haven't seen her perform on Def Jam Poetry, look up 'Friends, Fans, & Artists Must Meet'.
@@heavensophia9382 I don't remember seeing you doing anything. No.....I have not. Tell me how DeSantis is telling white people to be scared of something that he can't explain?
And once your woke you can not go back to sleep!!!
Telling it like it is. As always, Ms. Badu. ❤
Thank you Ari Melber for letting these people who continues to use a word, that they can’t even give its meaning!! Thank you Erykah, for educating the people who needs to be schooled!! Stop using a word you have no idea of the meaning, behind it!!
Uh huh. 🤭
Classic woke. 🤣
Ikr?!? Like people who can't define a woman😂😂
@@snoopyfan1476 or like when white people try to explain how they are afraid of something that they can't explain like CRT?
@@snoopyfan1476 or like when white people are afraid of WOKEISM and get on Fox News and freeze up like they are buffering when asked for the definition of WOKEISM?
@@snoopyfan1476 or like when one white guy loses his job and sends white supremacists to hang his VP?
Erykah Badu is an amazing and profound Artist with a powerful voice, she understands women, and pride in self and awareness and YES, yes!! Being Woke…. The only shame is the people who fear woke , because , Woke means Knowing.. woke means awareness, woke means being awake at the wheel of your life!!!! Fools who fight Woke, FEAR KNOWLEDGE, because Knowledge is still POWER!
*Erykah
@@idrispalmer5049 Jesus Christ calm down you people always have to find something wrong with everything
@@charlesbeloved7951 It’s the “you people” for me! UGFY (frequently)!
@@charlesbeloved7951
"...YOU PEOPLE..."
😳
🤣🤣🤣
💀💀💀
🤣🤣🤣
What is woke. Is it letting males compete against females. It's 100 percent unfair to women.
It’s crazy how it has to be explained…..that’s how sleep the whole country is 🤦♂️
So glad she finally broke this down, I been telling people this is where the word originated, it's been turned perverted to make people feel bad about knowing the truth, all this other woke stuff is just a way to dismiss it and make people feel bad about knowing what's really going on..no different than narcissism or any other words that's become social media popular to just label anybody.
The did the same thing with "canceled" as well. I hope to see more straight-up explanations like this.
It turns out we're all finding out Lead Belly used "stay woke" decades before.
The word started within the Black culture in the 1930's and has been said forever among Black People. Erykah did not invent this word or its meaning. We've been saying it for decades.
100%!
It's actually in the Bible as well. As King Soloman said in Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun. 1 Thessalonians 5:6 [Paul] says don't sleep like others, stay awake and sober.
The significance and power of an artist's voice should not be underestimated. So grateful to be made aware of this artist.
Artist, lol!
@@abefroman8821 very artful what are you?
@@EgyptianAmazon im a pediatric heart surgeon
@@abefroman8821 Boring, anyways. Stream Erykah Badu y'all
Ohhhhhhh😮👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👌🏾
PERIOD!! I could NEVER understand why someone would want to be asleep in this life.
To be fair- white children across the country developed pill dependency in the 90s leading to today, they're all numb n uncaring
says a sea of clapping sheep. Erykah Badu ‘I saw something good in Hitler"
@@jasonbrown467 🤡😴
@@jasonbrown467she never said that stop lying 🙄
Absolutely love this woman. I feel uplifted just from this video.
Watch it again in a few weeks to chart your growth of spirit and mind
Absolutely
She did not invent the term woke and it means something els now. It’s termed as sensitive politically correct people. She has great music but her points are moot.
I love the way Erykah makes that statement because it's so true for those that can understand the language ❤❤❤
@@Goredbirds82 85% of hate crimes in America and 90% of school shootings are caused by white people. Why?
@@Goredbirds82 according to the FBI, there's been a drastic rise in domestic terrorist threats caused by white supremacists groups since the election of Trump. Why?
@@Goredbirds82 according to the past 2022 midterm elections, most white people are responsible for the rise of rhetoric of white victimhood towards CRT and WOKEISM which most white people have no clear definition of. Why?
@@Goredbirds82 I think Tupac already did
@@camrontoney577 Would make sense but pretty sure he was gone BEFORE people actually got WOKE
THIS is the interview I've been waiting for someone to do
Me toooooo!
Guess you’ve topped out in life.
Not surprised.
@@jimeagle5509 didn't your people tap out during the January 6th terrorist attack?
@@jimeagle5509 it's preposterous that your people are feeding you white victimhood of something that they can't give you the definition of. Are they pimps?
Yet here you are skkraping the bottom of the barrel for kkrude insults as a kklown does @@jimeagle5509
Just stop it. Everybody screaming woke but we as AFRICAN AMERICANS still dead last!!
as a 61 yer old woman (white), staying woke is truly earned...I mean there's BS everyday, everywhere. stay strong, keep learning, never stop
Love when elders pass on wisdom to the younger generations, I hope you live to see the dawn of Love and integrity
🙏🙏
Blessings Sister !!
It seems you're referring to being 61, and waking up every day is a blessing..?? Not WOKE as in what it actually represents
@@d.d.t.7239 being WOKE is a state of mind, a way of ¨forwarding¨ towards wokeness. understanding racism, bias, fair & equal.
"It is this belief in a power larger than myself and other than myself which allows me to venture into the unknown and even the unknowable."
~ Maya Angelou (1928-2014), American poet, writer, singer, and activist
Ain’t much different than when mainstream hijacked the ‘Harlem Shake’ and turned it into some kinda viral goofy seizure dance.
Stay Woke!!! be mindful, be aware and stay alert. 💯
Right! Watch out for the people who think they are awake, but are spiritually dead in tresspasses & sin!
@@wqv5423ln that would be white supremacists like DeSantis and Trump
@@wqv5423ln BAD!!💯💯💪✊️😎✌️😁😅😂🤣
You're projecting your own mentality and transferring it onto others obliviously 🚩@@wqv5423ln 🚩seek help
@@O-SNOOPY-SNOOP these krakkas lost their minds🥹😱nervous breakdowns classic sign of weakness
People were using "stay woke " before her album, but stay strong sister!!!
She was saying that she was one of the first to put it to music. We've always been awake.
Stay woke was used in the 1960’s by black grass roots !
@@bobbiewright1500 actually it goes back to the ‘40s.
@@lsowner10Marcus Garvey
@QUIET STORM she's actually not one of the 1st to put it to music, but I do think she is one of the catalyst who made the word more prevalent to main stream media.
Thank you, Thank you for saying what has been on my mind. To them, woke means black. They don’t fool anyone.
RACISTS WILL ALWAYZ SHOW THEIR TRUE COLORS SOONER OR LATER ✊️😎✌️😁
And don't forget, also those of us who are supporters of the woke (black).
All my respect to Ms. Erykah!!!
Thank you for the soul music, love you
SOUNDS LIKE CATS DYING.
@@mikebrigs1218🤦🏾
@@mikebrigs1218 delusional lmao
I love how she says there are no solutions in this album. Just observations. Sometimes you don't have the answers, but that doesn't mean you can't acknowledge the issues. ❤ Love her
Wisdom here. Willful ignorance despises wisdom. Arise and stay wise.
😩The World keeps burninggg
Oh what a day to be here with BADU. What a day, what a day🥲😌
Erykah Badu is a legend 🙌🏽 My mom played her music when I was growing up, and I am still a fan to this day. I love her even more now. Thank you, strong woman! ❤
Thank you for thissss
The term "woke" predates Erykah Badu by decades. African-Americans first used it in the 1930s. "Stay woke" meant, "Beware of the cops."
Yep. That's what she said.
Erykah I am loving your calmness in the face of these ignorant people who simply won’t call a thing anything. You’re refreshing and limitless with your reaching and teaching.
It's sad how such an inspirational and positive concept can be turned into such hateful and negative uses. Apparently, people are not allowed to "be aware" and there are those who want people to continue living with blinders in a shallow, boxed-in world they try to define.
Great interview! I’ve been a fan of hers for years. She’s right!
It saddens me because I’ve been called woke my whole life and now it’s a bad thing… I have very high awareness of everything around me. I’ve always been that way and there are many people like me who feel personally attacked by what has transpired in this country so disappointing when we tell you what it means and you still don’t want to believe it that really sucks.
She's very smart. Her words speaks the truth. Her music spreads awareness that every human being deserves to live, breathe the same air and to be treated with respect. Unfortunately there are people who don't share this kind of values . The earth belongs to everybody , for human race to live in. I fear that some leaders of the world tried to eradicate others because of the color of their skin, or they go against tyranny. Peace is long overdue.
The only values I want ate found in God's word! The rest comes from the Enemy!
you mean HE it is a dude
I love her, I lover this song and she is so much smarter than every rePublican we see and hear!
Your trained hate has reached level 5. You'll be getting your rainbow scarf of honor in the mail.
We thank you for making the world a worst place.
@@vitaminckillscovid103 look at the totality of white victimhood. Your privilege is so hurt.
@@vitaminckillscovid103 that is so pathetic that you people are so afraid of something that your leadership can't give you the definition of.
@@vitaminckillscovid103 You're certainly far from being woke.
I’m loving these ‘maverick’ style interviews Ari. I always find something new to think about. woke in it’s simplest definition means ‘aware’ imho
That “awareness” just got 6 people killed in Nashville.
@Sara Mill Sarah?
@saramill2097you sound dumb Mrs. Mill
@@francismarion6400 please try speaking in proper English if you want to be taken seriously
To us, Woke has always meant "be aware".
They took everything we created and twist it up into something bad...
Maybe you should've kept your pedophilic gender idealogy away from children.
YUP YUP & HATE US BECAUSE THEY AIN'T US ✊️😎💯💪✌️😁
@@O-SNOOPY-SNOOP they know they love us, they're on the DL🤭
notice she said "it doesnt belong to us anymore" that right there is the STORY of BLACK CULTURE.
Thank you Erykah for letting them know what Woke actually means.. 💕💕
@Jeff if it does, why are white people afraid of it?
@Jeff No, that's what MAGA means...nice try Jeff.
@MK Self Nicely done... putting old Jeffy- boy straight.👏👏👍👍
@Jeff *MUTE 🔕 =RUSSIAN TROLL ALERT 👋👋😈😂😅🤣*
@Jeff First of all Jeff, stop liking your own comments to feel validated....pathetic. You've been indoctrinated to believe that the way other people choose to live their lives somehow impacts or threatens you. sonwhat!You should be more concerned about living your own life, rather than how others choose to live their lives. So what! Seriously, you are devouring all the BS and hatred toward anyone who is, or believes differently than you. I feel so sorry for you, for feeling so threatened and scared of people, who do you no harm. What a weak and pathetic soul to have to put others down to feel better about themselves.
The Disney witches cast a spell on Desantis and if he doesn't say "woke" 50 times a day, he'll turn into a meatball. 🤣
😅🤣😂🙂🙃🤣😅😆
Just got 60% of the vote.
Whine harder.
😂 stupid comment winner 🥇 😅
@@jimeagle5509 you can't get 60% of no vote. This is exactly why Trump lost 2020.....that's not going to work.
@@jimeagle5509 you people need a new strategy instead of the fake white victimhood garbage. It's not working.
Loved the energy 🙌 giving thanks
Erika Badu is a national treasure🙌💛🙌
Being aware and being in alignment with Nature seems like a pretty good way to go through life.
Ase'O!💚💜
Exactly, which is why the definition of 'woke' never changed for me.
They hijacked tf outta that word
So much respect for that woman. Agree, stay woke!
Seeing Erykah Badu play in San Francisco is still the best concert experience I’ve had. True artistry at its best. ❤
I will never forget seeing her at the Haight Street fair a few years ago. She literally performed out of no where on the stage at Haight and Ashbury. I was shook and it made my whole life :)
Ms Badu, you betta’ let ‘em know!!! Well done sis! Wellllllll done! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏♥️
I adore Erykah Badu! 😍
She is a woman who has used her voice and her power to bring change and awareness to the world.
I first discovered her in 1997. I was a 41-year old, white teacher in the Midwest (not her typical target demographic). Her first album spoke to me like nothing I had ever heard before. 26 years later, I still remember how I felt listening to it for the first time.
It doesn't surprise me she coined the term "woke" to describe how people should be living their lives in Awareness and with concern for their fellow man.
Thank you, Erykah, for what you have meant to me and all your fans. ✌🤟✊
*THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR STORY WITH US & KEEP ON *"STAYING WOKE ✊️😎"* TOO ✌️😁*
Yes, concern for our fellow human. We're all connected.
Growing up in the 90s was simpler times when we weren't all fighting for our lives and existence of our country
@@jamesbrudnick9015 🫱🏻🫲🏼🫂power of love through music reaches across the room like a friendly handshake into hug
except that part about her hate for the jews
There is no question that being woke is actually a good thing for people to be.
Sure. Just got 6 people killed in Nashville yesterday. But hey. Pronouns for all ….
@@jimeagle5509 your people create the reason why woke is necessary. Didn't your people who are anti woke responsible for the Buffalo shootings? El Paso shootings? Pittsburgh synagogue shootings? Dylan Roof?
@@jimeagle5509 didn't your people create the KKK?
@@jimeagle5509 Poor Jim. He's still drinking the Kool aid. But hey, Trump loves the poorly educated.
@@jimeagle5509 a more woke society may not have created such an alienated individual who felt the need to lash out and attack their neighbors. Your ignorance is astounding.
Woke started long b4 her
Right 😂
She’s a goddess ❤ and she is “aware”of her words and power, love her ❤️
😂
This is EXACTLY what "woke" means!!!!!
@KING CONDOM III No, Evangelical oppression and torture did that.
We’ve been saying wake up and say woke for years 🤔
Erykah is a badass❤❤❤
“I think they mean black” Facts 💯 we invented woke ✊🏾
This interview absolutely needed to be done because it is absolutely annoying to hear it misused by individuals who want to villanize intelligence & the ability to think critically. To say that you're an enemy of of woke-ness means you are literally saying that you prefer to remain unaware, ignorant, incompetent & ill-prepared. Ignorance isn't bliss, it can be debilitating & render you powerless. Thank you Ari!
It’s funny how “Woke” became a whole different meaning from the original stay aware meaning.
I now understand the phrase protect her at all cost now
It makes me happy to see how level headed she is. Always one of my favorites
Love Erykah and I loved that album when it dropped!
Erykah Badu has 3 kids by 3 different black males, none of whom married her. She's also very male identified.
Seems like she's the one who needs to take her own advice and "stay woke".
Stay "woke" an African American vernacular dating back to 1930s. Meaning awareness of the social and political issues affecting African Americans.
This needs to go viral.
"When we drop fear, we can draw nearer to people, we can draw nearer to the earth, we can draw nearer to all the heavenly creatures that surround us."
~ bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins), American writer and activist
*Is she taking credit for a word that's been around since before she was born?*
You can tell by reading some of these comments that people really have no idea of the history of Ms. Badu prior to this mini clip 😢 keep her as a hidden gem to the black culture bc everyone is not deserving of her ❤
What you talking bout ms Jackson you better call tyrone because he was the love of my life.....the call can go on & on...
Ms. Badu is certainly a gem, that ALL people can benefit and learn from..being "deserving" is not based on skin color. I appreciate her beautiful voice and soul and appreciate that she is not "hidden" from someone like me, who is not a member of the "black culture."
TRU THAT TRUE THAT!! I WATCH ARI MELBER MONDAY THRU FRIDAY & WHEN I SEEN THAT SHE WUZ ON I SAID,"I GOTTA CHECK & 👀 SEE WHAT HIS COMMENT SECTION LOOKS LIKE TODAY WHENEVER IT COMES ON UA-cam ✊️😎✌️😁
Thou doth protest too much methinks. The more you say the less I'm inclined to believe @@benjaminaviles1388
@@O-SNOOPY-SNOOP they try itttttt, they can't help themselves it's a compulsion neurological imbalant
With all due respect...
Black American folk singer-songwriter Huddie Ledbetter, a.k.a. Lead Belly, used the phrase "stay woke" as part of a spoken afterward to a 1938 recording of his song "Scottsboro Boys", which tells the story of nine black teenagers and young men falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931.
Good to know. Thanks for posting.
Well done! Many thanks
Yeah thank you. I'm like I love you girl, but you know you weren't the first to say stay woke. That has been in the black lexicon for decades. With you pinpointing the actual origin
AHH SNAP, STAY WOKE ✊️😎YO'💯💪✌️😁
She said black folks been saying this way before her..she never credited herself as the creator of it she jus helped more people learn about it
Thank you!!! What she said. PERIOD
Actually, the blues singer Huddie Ledbetter was the first to say "Stay Woke" in 1938.
Iconic, well deserved.
They always speaking on something that they don't have a clear understanding for
Thank you. I will remain woke!
Treat all humans with respect and dignity. That's what woke means to me.
@KING CONDOM III you know that you are not Christian and are responsible for racism. Get off the lies. Didn't your people create the KKK?
@KING CONDOM III aren't your people a few molecules short of love? Name the ethnicity outside of your people who you have never hated?
@KING CONDOM III how long have you worshiped Trump? Are you bowing down now?
And nonhuman animals as well... Erykah is a vegan. 😍
I grew up listening to Erykah Badu, and the one thing about her, is that she speaks the truth.
It IS about time that someone said this verbally. The term "stay woke" has been a positive one most of my life. I remember it in music from my teenage years in the 80's. "The phrase “woke” and to “stay woke” is not new - it began appearing in the 1940s and was first used by African Americans to “literally mean becoming woken up or sensitised to issues of justice”, says linguist and lexicographer Tony Thorne."
It's still positive and means what it means. Next they'll say the light is not light anymore
Yep! Woke is the way to be about all of life and it's path!
Tell it! ❤
If these sad small minded "politicians" could have but a modicum of the strength and wisdom of Ms. Badu, imagine the things they could accomplish. How much good they could do.
I'd prefer BADU representing us as an artist over 🚩"killer Mike" Render who sold Blackfolks out to Brian Kemp in GA⛳
It's sad to see how people would hate for someone to stay woke and view it as bad. It really not a movement but basically keeping your eyes,ears and thinking rather than believing in what people tell you.
They were indoctrinated to hate their fellow Americans from childhood. They've been exploited for their feelings
They rely on what their grandparents tell them about us instead of understanding what they did to us
Believe when you don't know
My beloved Enchanting Empress I thank the initiator of all things for your majesty.
Amazing album! Love her so much!❤
Good job sis !
Tell me you're proud to be naive by not actually saying it.
@@vitaminckillscovid103 tell us that your white privilege is damaged. Just say it.
@@vitaminckillscovid103 your name does that perfectly
Woke has taken on a new meaning.
I asked my 86 year old mom what woke means. It didn't take her a second and she said to be awake and aware of what is going on around you. I have to give her credit for being a liberal old white lady 😊