First Vulture Festival Kicks Off With Erykah Badu DJ Set

The first ever Vulture Festival — a weekend of events starring Parks and Recreation’s Adam Scott, Rufus Wainwright, M.I.A., Solange, and the casts of Bob’s Burgers, Orange Is the New Black, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine — kicked off Friday night with a party at Manhattan’s Neuehouse. (Pick up tickets for all those events here.) The night’s DJ, Low Down Loretta Brown (a.k.a. Erykah Badu), spun through two hours of hits (including “Skew It on the Bar-B,” by former flame Andre 3000, which prompted her to yell out, “I’m about to take you to Baby Daddy’s album. I’m talking about my baby daddy”) before singing an a capella version of her song “Soldiers.” On her way out to pick up her 17-year old son Seven at the airport, all she wanted to do was talk about her getup:

Badu: These are my favorite blue feathers I take with me everywhere.

Where did they come from?
They came from a friend named Thundercat; he’s my bass player.

Nice, do you know where he got them? What kind of bird are they?
It’s from a macaw I think. I think he has a bird and they fell off his tail. And then I have on my medallions I always wear — my Mayan calendar and my Egyptian calendar. And I have on my lucky triple pyramid [necklace] — this was made by Miguel, the singer, and he gave it to me. This ankh ring is made by my father [had eight or ten gemstones in the setting].

What a talented family.
This is my favorite hat, one of my designs.

You designed that hat?
Well you know, kind of. I asked for it.

Tell me. Everyone wonders about this hat.
I’ve been wearing these hats for ten years. Same hats.

So Pharrell stole it from you, right?
I don’t think he stole it. I think that’s a Vivianne Westwood hat he has on, that’s really exquisite — I love his hat.

Did you make it or did you design, it or both?
Yes. Made it.

How do you make a hat?
You just put it on a hat mold and you get some felt, and you spin it and turn it and you have your own bowl.

How do you know when it’s high enough?
I don’t. I just keep giving it pot.

Pot?
Pot.

For a look at the rest of Vulture Festival’s opening night party, click through.