MILAN, ITALY — Following the sell-out of her first Milan concert, Erykah Badu announces a second date for The Return of Automatic Slim Tour—Erykah Badu Mama’s Gun ’25: celebrating the 25th anniversary of her groundbreaking second studio album Mama’s Gun in Milan.
The tour kicked off on 3 October at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles before heading to major venues across North America and Europe, including London’s Royal Albert Hall, Paris’s Zenith, and three exclusive Italian shows produced by Bass Culture: Friday 7 and Saturday 8 November at Milan’s Alcatraz.
Rome’s Auditorium (known as Parco della Musica) will host the tour’s third date. With a career spanning over 25 years, multiple Grammy Awards, and a profound influence on modern R&B and hip-hop, Erykah Badu remains a vital force in global music and culture. This tour marks not only a celebration of her past achievements but also a testament to the timeless power of her artistry.
Released in 2000, Mama’s Gun cemented Badu’s reputation as one of the most innovative and influential artists of her generation. Blending soul, funk, hip-hop, and gospel, her distinctive voice and socially conscious lyrics earned widespread critical acclaim and commercial success, inspiring countless artists who followed.
Erykah Badu
The Mama’s Gun anniversary show is poised to be a spine-tingling experience for both longtime fans and newcomers. Timeless classics like Bag Lady, Didn’t Cha Know?, and Cleva will be reimagined alongside selections from her extensive repertoire, showcasing the creative brilliance that has made her one of music’s most visionary minds.
Beyond music, Erykah Badu is a multifaceted creative force—a champion of women’s wellness, a challenger of oppressive social structures, and an advocate for Black feminist values. She is also a trailblazing entrepreneur: founder of a live-streaming company, pioneer of the home-concert concept, and creator of BaduWorldMarket.com, her official online store.
In 2023, her cannabis brand Apple Trees partnered with Cookies to launch That Badu, while her distinctive style and fashion influence earned her the 2024 CFDA Fashion Icon Award. From Fashion Week runways to the covers of major magazines, Badu continues to redefine cultural and artistic expression.
Composer Yann Tiersen is also redefining touring and challenging capitalist norms. On his winter tour across Europe, from Brest to Tallinn, he travelled with no crew and only his dog for company, eschewing the usual trappings of tour consumerism (hotels, dressing rooms), and sleeping in people’s gardens. He has brought his music to extraordinary landscapes and intimate settings, rejecting the conventions of large-scale touring to forge genuine connections with local crews and organisers.
Yann Tiersen, 2025. Photograph: Aurélie Scouarnec
The album is divided into two distinct, interconnected parts, each with its own sonic character. Rathlin from a Distance comprises eight tracks of introspective instrumental piano. “There is something transformative about being at sea. Away from the noise and weight of the world, you are left with the raw, untamed forces of nature—and yourself,” he says. “It is a space where you can begin to challenge your beliefs, your identity, your gender, and even the person you thought you were. I began to shed the expectations, constructs, and roles that society places on us. The waves demand honesty.”
The Liquid Hour is an expansive, genre-defying blend of electronics and dynamic psychedelic rhythms. Tiersen explains how an experience at the helm of his sailboat, with Belfast glimmering in the distance, informed these five tracks: “I think of the bruises left by systems grinding against us, I feel the fury bubble up: ancient, raw, electric. It burns through me. The water becomes a mirror to my rage. And hope. There’s a war to wage against the choking vines of capitalism, binding our roots, stealing our light. It’s a wipe-out of everything that’s broken. With your hope and your rage. For all of us, for what’s coming, for what we’ll build together. The soundtrack to our uprising.”
by Chidozie Obasi