Erykah Badu photo from WikiCommons

Earlier this week, we noticed neighborhood homeowner (times two), musical artist, possible midwife Erykah Badu was trending on Twitter.

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The good news is that she is OK. Thriving, actually.

The less encouraging (regarding the state of humanity and the internet) news is that the hoopla is all about her — and her adult daughter’s — behinds. Not the first time a woman’s backside threatened to break the internet.

Behind the music, it’s a tale of two booties, if you will, and here’s the back story:

Badu’s daughter, Puma Sabti Curry, 18, posted a pic on Instagram of herself and her mother wearing tight leggings and showing off some rear-end curves.

After substantial reaction from the masses — some supportive, some not — young Curry addressed the critics.

“I posted a pic of me and my mama Badu in some cute form fitting pants,” Puma Curry wrote. “I’m an adult. What’s the real issue? Let’s discuss.”

Puma Curry’s father, rapper Lynn Curry aka DOC, and Badu both commented, “well …,” perhaps awaiting justification.

Badu showed a sense of humor about the whole thing. When one commenter wrote that her “ass goes viral at least once a year,” she responded that next year she would “share a sonogram ex ray of my colon.”

Anyway, you can read the complex.com summary of the situation and see the photos in question here.

But I’ve taken the liberty of bullet-ing four Badu-related items that are arguably more interesting than she and her daughter’s butts.

  • One, a documentary about the aforementioned rapper/lyricist DOC — Badu’s friend and Puma’s dad —  is set for a theater release this spring, according to this exclusive Variety article. The film, among other things, explores DOC and Badu’s relationship. “I owe Erykah everything. I mean, Erykah is a soulmate,” DOC tells hiphopDX.com in a recent interview. “She brought amazing energy to this film in a lot of ways.”
  • Two, New York–based jazz vocalist José James is working on a series in which he celebrates the work of a different iconic American musicians, think Billie Holliday and Bill Withers. Now he’s doing Badu’s debut single, On & On. “His interpretations of the seven Badu songs he sings over the album’s 43 minutes are faithful to the originals, but also faithful to James’s own identity as an artist,” determines Texas Monthly music critic Dan Solomon.
  • Three, that time Common (born Lonnie Rashid Lynn), another of Badu’s former paramours, discussed planting vegetables with the queen at her White Rock Lake homestead.
  • And four, this outfit: