Meaning: This quote by Erykah Badu, an influential musician known for her unique blend of soul, R&B, and hip-hop, encapsulates her perspective on the impact of her music on her audience. Badu has always been known for her distinct fashion sense, including her iconic head wraps, and her unapologetic embrace of her individuality. In this quote, she emphasizes that her appearance and personal style are not the focus of her artistry; rather, it is the emotional connection and resonance that her music creates within her listeners that truly matters to her.

Badu's statement carries a powerful message about the transformative potential of music. She asserts that her goal as an artist is to evoke emotions in her audience, to make them feel something profound and meaningful through her music. By dissociating her appearance and personal style from the impact of her music, Badu emphasizes the universality of the emotional experience that her art seeks to cultivate. This sentiment underscores the idea that music has the ability to transcend external appearances and connect with people on a deeply emotional level.

Furthermore, when Badu mentions "the way that people who influenced me made me feel," she not only acknowledges her own musical influences but also highlights the cyclical nature of artistic inspiration and influence. She suggests that her aspiration is to evoke in her listeners the same profound emotions and experiences that she herself has felt when listening to the artists who have inspired her. This notion of passing on the emotional and creative legacy of her influences speaks to the interconnectedness of musical expression across generations and cultures.

The concept of "completion" that Badu references in the quote reflects her desire to achieve a sense of fulfillment through her music. For her, the ultimate goal is to create a profound and resonant experience for her audience, one that mirrors the impact that her own musical influences have had on her. This pursuit of completion through music underscores the deeply personal and emotional investment that Badu has in her art, emphasizing that her creative fulfillment is intrinsically linked to the emotional connection she forges with her listeners.

In summary, Erykah Badu's quote encapsulates her belief in the transcendent power of music to evoke profound emotions and create meaningful connections with her audience. Her emphasis on the emotional impact of her music, independent of her personal appearance and style, underscores the universal and transformative potential of artistic expression. Through her words, Badu conveys her aspiration to elicit in her listeners the same deep and meaningful emotional experiences that have shaped her own artistic journey, ultimately seeking a sense of completion through the emotional resonance of her music.