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If you’ve ever been to an Erykah Badu show, you already know the vibes. The Dallas, Texas native has been dominating the R&B realm for over two and a half decades, with a long catalog of timeless hits. Whether it’s “On & On,” “Window Seat,” or “Bag Lady,” Badu always puts on one hell of a performance for her devout fanbase.

Now, the singer-songwriter is embarking on her Unfollow Me Tour, which hits the East Coast this coming weekend. Additionally, she will be unveiling her short animation titled “Badu’s Forbidden Fruits,” in collaboration with Belgian visual artist Robin Velghe a.k.a. Rhymezlikedimez.

Sheen had the pleasure of attending the virtual press junket discussing this exciting new release, which references her popular song “Appletree.” The record also serves as the soundtrack for the animated short, as she announces the quest to find the forbidden fruits. These fruits come in the form of an apple bong, directly in line with the release of her cannabis line with Cookies titled That Badu. 

Erykah Badu states, “This journey is about manifestation and planning, and how it meets you halfway. He’s all the way in Belgium and not only do our themes match for this particular project, but our apples are identical.”

Rhymezlikedimez confirms, “I just saw, I didn’t see them so close, but they’re almost identical. We didn’t plan on this.”

Badu continues, “The interpretation of the apple is really unique. I thought this one too, I bought a whole crate of these apple bongs for apple trees. I remember last year trying to figure out, what am I gonna do with all these apple bongs? How can I promote this? So this year, I just let everything flow.”

Rhymezlikedimez responds, “I love that, because that’s something that people don’t think about sometimes. You can have an apple sculpture and an apple bong but they’re done so differently. That was one of my concerns and I saw the one you sent me and it was perfect. This is one of the most epic collaborations I’ve ever done.”

The live hunts will take place in select cities, including New York City, Philadelphia, Newark, and Norfolk. Remaining tour dates include Washington D.C., Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Birmingham, Memphis, and Dallas.