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How D’Angelo helped launch the career of Dallas’ Erykah Badu

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How D’Angelo helped launch the career of Dallas’ Erykah Badu


If not for R&B singer D’Angelo, who died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer at age 51, the world might never have known Erykah Badu.

The year was 1995 and the future “Queen of Neo-Soul” was still Erica Wright. A South Dallas native, she’d graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and studied theater at Grambling State University in Louisiana. Back home in Dallas, she’d formed Erykah Free, a vocal/rap duo with Robert “Free” Bradford, her older cousin.

In March, they got their first big break: A gig at South By Southwest in Austin, where she gave the duo’s demo CD to Mobb Deep’s manager, who in turn passed it along to Kedar Massenburg, manager of the rising soul singer D’Angelo.

When Massenburg played it for D’Angelo in his car, the singer’s eyes lit up.

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“He was like, ‘Yo, Key,’ man, she’s incredible! You gotta let me produce the album,” Massenburg told Billboard in 2017. “I said, ‘Nah, D, you couldn’t even finish your own album! You think I’m gonna let you produce Erykah?’”

D’Angelo finally released his critically acclaimed debut album, Brown Sugar, in July 1995 and hit the road, including a November show at Caravan of Dreams in Fort Worth. Massenburg quickly arranged for Badu to open for D’Angelo that night, and the producer flew into town to meet her and see her perform.

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Massenburg obviously liked what he saw. In short order, he signed her to a management deal, landed her a solo contract with Universal Records and put her in the studio with D’Angelo to duet on the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell hit “Your Precious Love.” Their smoldering version came out in 1996 on the soundtrack to High School High, a quickly-forgotten Jon Lovitz comedy.

But her fortunes flipped months later when she released her debut album, Baduizm. It instantly struck a chord on radio and MTV, selling three million copies and winning Grammys for R&B album and female R&B performance. Looking back, Badu has called D’Angelo a kindred spirit and “a true artist.”

“[Massenburg] understood that what me and D’Angelo had in common was not that we sounded alike, but that we didn’t sound like what was happening [in music at the time],” she told GQ.

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Nearly two decades later, as D’Angelo was putting the final touches on his 14-years-in-the-making Black Messiah album, Badu said she was just as eager as everyone else to hear her old friend’s new record.

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“I think we need that,” she said. “The world needs that voice.”

Erykah Badu performs during the
Erykah Badu’s first album in 15 years is delayed

The Dallas R&B legend shared the news on Instagram Thursday night.

The Black Academy of Arts and Letters director Curtis King was joined onstage by Dallas...
Dallas’ Black Academy of Arts and Letters shares plans for renovation

The downtown arts group will be relocating to Fair Park before the overhaul.



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Dallas, TX

Eagles Sign TE With Dallas Goedert’s Future Up In Air

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Eagles Sign TE With Dallas Goedert’s Future Up In Air


In typical Philadelphia Eagles fashion, the franchise has been busy, transaction-wise, over the last few days.

The Eagles were knocked out in the Wild Card Round by the San Francisco 49ers and have started getting ready for the long offseason ahead. That already includes a lot. The Eagles signed eight to reserve/futures deals on Monday. That’s not even close to all, though. On Tuesday, the Eagles announced that the franchise has removed Kevin Patullo as the team’s offensive coordinator after a roller coaster of a season offensively.

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On top of that, the Eagles announced three more futures deals on Tuesday. Philadelphia announced that it has signed tight end E.J. Jenkins, offensive tackle John Ojukwu, and running back Carson Steele to reserve/futures deals. Of this group, Jenkins arguably is the most interesting.

The Eagles were busy on Tuesday

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Oct 19, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; A general view of the Philadelphia Eagles helmet before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

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“The Eagles signed three players to future deals: tight end E.J. Jenkins, tackle John Ojukwu, and running back Carson Steele,” the Eagles announced. “Philadelphia has now signed 11 players to future contracts after inking eight on Monday. TE E.J. Jenkins. Jenkins signed with the Jets after going undrafted out of Georgia Tech in 2023. The tight end first joined Philadelphia’s practice squad in 2023 and spent the entire 2024 and 2025 seasons with the Eagles. He has played in 10 games for the Birds, two this past season, taking his only NFL catch for a touchdown.”

Philadelphia’s tight end room is completely up in the air heading into the offseason. Dallas Goedert is a pending free agent after spending the last eight seasons with the team. Goedert was third on the team with 60 catches, to go along with 591 yards and a team-leading 11 touchdown receptions.

The tight end on the team with the next-closest number of receptions was Grant Calcaterra with nine for 76 yards and a touchdown. Kylen Granson had seven catches for 40 yards. The Eagles don’t have a long-term solution in place at tight end. Calcaterra and Granson are also free agents this offseason, like Goedert.

Jenkins is 27 years old and has just one catch for seven yards and a touchdown while appearing in 10 games for Philadelphia. He’s likely not the long-term answer either, but with Goedert, Calcaterra, and Granson all heading to free agency, keeping at least one potential option with the team throughout the offseason is positive.

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Tight end arguably is the position to watch for Philadelphia this offseason.

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More NFL: Eagles’ Dream OC Option Is Sitting Right There



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FC Dallas Opens Preseason as Eric Quill Sets the Tone

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FC Dallas Opens Preseason as Eric Quill Sets the Tone


FC Dallas officially opened preseason this week, with manager Eric Quill beginning his second full season in charge of the club. On Monday, players and coaches took to the training pitch at the Toyota Soccer Center for the first time in 2026 as preparations for the upcoming MLS season got underway.

“It feels like you’re a kid again. Even as I coach, I don’t touch the ball, but to be able to touch the grass and see the youthful exuberance, energy, and the guys getting back with their chemistry, it’s really fun,” said Quill. “It’s a lot of fun; the hour goes by fast. I’m just looking forward to the whole season.”

For players like forward Logan Farrington, there was a relief to be back on the pitch after a couple of months away from Frisco.

“The first day, I think everyone is happy to be out there on the grass with one another,” said Farrington. “The weather was great today, the ball was flying around. There were a couple of loose touches, but that was to be expected. It feels great to be back and have everyone around here.”

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In 2025, the club struggled to find consistency in the opening months of the season before turning things around over the final two and a half months of the regular season en route to a playoff appearance. Quill is hoping to take those final two months and expand on that positive momentum into the new season.

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“Last year we were trying to set a foundation, which I think we did,” said Quill when comparing his first preseason last year to this year’s. “Now it is about how we evolve in year two. That is the goal, in the ways we need to evolve and execute that evolution every day.”

Dallas will train in Frisco this week ahead of a trip to Portugal next week, where the club will play a trio of matches before returning home for games against MLS opposition in February — a stretch Quill has emphasized as critical to building cohesion early.

“Every day matters,” stated Quill. “Every day that you walk through the building matters. Also, self-reflect and be your own worst critic, and how you want to get better and improve. How we grow these relationships with all of the new faces, you rely on a lot of leadership to connect the dots of that locker room tightness. As we grow in preseason, it is all about how fast we can become a team.”

For FC Dallas, the message from day one is clear: the work for 2026 has already started, and there’s no time to waste.

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Dallas police search for hit-and-run driver who left 26-year-old in critical condition

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Dallas police search for hit-and-run driver who left 26-year-old in critical condition


A 26-year-old victim remains in critical condition on Monday night, as his family tells FOX 4 the hit-and-run collision on Sunday morning caused severe head trauma, leaving little to no brain function.

What we know:

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John Rodriguez is by his son’s bedside at Methodist Hospital, pleading for him to pull through. At the same time, he is also pleading to the public.

26-year-old Johnathan Rodriguez was dropped off by friends outside his Dallas neighborhood early Sunday morning after celebrating his birthday.

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Just before 3 a.m. near W Davis St and N Westmoreland Dr, surveillance video shows the son in the median area. As he turns to the right, and that’s when a dark-colored SUV hits him and keeps going.

“I’m just shaken and shocked. My son is fighting for his life,” said John. “Just help us please, help us.”

“Just, please, if we could get the viewers to help and help bring this person to justice,” said the victim’s uncle, Frank Carrizales.

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This is what the video captured just before the moment of impact.

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The family is walking up and down Davis St trying to find video to send over to police. Dallas police confirm to FOX 4 that this is a hit-and-run investigation. By the time officers arrived on scene, the driver was nowhere to be found.

A freeze-frame of the dark-colored SUV reveals that the back left taillight is damaged.

A vow was given from the father, who is leaning on the overwhelming love pouring in.

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“We are going to find him. We are going to find him. I guarantee,” said John.

“He has a lot of support, and they are praying for him,” said Carrizales.

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What’s next:

The family is offering a reward to anyone who provides Dallas police with information.

There were some drivers who chose to pull over to help and provided a vehicle description to police.

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Dallas investigators are using that information to try and find this driver.

The Source: Information in this article was provided by FOX 4’s Peyton Yager.

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