Key Takeaways
- Erykah Badu compared her timeless catalog to Tupperware, saying both were made so well that people did not feel they needed anything new.
- She told The Shop that performing unfamiliar songs for fans expecting classics remains a challenge, but one she accepts.
- Badu recently tested that approach by touring with The Alchemist and performing entirely new material from their collaborative album ‘Before the World Blows.’
Erykah Badu has a unique way of explaining why performing new music can be a challenge when your classics remain timeless.
During a recent appearance on The Shop podcast, Badu was asked how she judges the success of a performance when audiences may know every word to her older hits but are less familiar with her newer material.
"There is a company called Tupperware. Tupperware made materials so well that they did not have return customers. So eventually, Tupperware went out of business," she explained near the 32-minute mark in the video linked above. “Even though Tupperware made smaller containers or different things, people didn't need them because the original material was so good that it went out of business.”
She compared the company's durable products to her own music catalog, saying she has been blessed to create work that resonates so deeply with listeners that they do not necessarily want to hear anything else, but they do not need anything else either.
However, Badu acknowledged that this presents a challenge when performing new material for fans who arrive expecting her familiar hits.
“It's a challenge to perform new music for an audience who's come to get Tupperware, and I accept the challenge." she said, pointing to her recent tour with The Alchemist in support of their Before the World Blows album where they performed entirely new material.
She explained that audiences can initially feel uneasy when they do not recognize the songs. While some newer fans keep up with her latest releases and know the words, longtime supporters and younger listeners who have recently discovered her often arrive with specific expectations about what they want to hear.
Badu said she can recognize those expectations through the audience's reactions, adding that she sees them "in their eyes and in their bodies."
The so-called “Tupperware paradox” Badu mentions has indeed been written about, but it appears to be something akin to an urban legend. According to many analysts, the company actually went bankrupt in 2024 because its decades-long strategy of using independent sales reps (a la the famous “Tupperware party”) fell out of cultural favor, and the company had problems getting its products in stores because of its dependence on the older model.
