Whatever happened to singer Erykah Badu? It's been a while since the R&B singer has released any album, so to earn some cash, the singer roamed the streets of New York to... beg in the streets? 

Or, perhaps, the singer was just doing a social experiment.

Badu released last Wednesday an iPhone video showing her singing in the street. The singer has become a social media star recently because of her peculiar vines and tweets.

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The video features the soulful artist standing in the middle of Time Square, stretching out a hat while serenading passersby. Ironically, with her powerful voice, the singer went largely unnoticed by the crowd, although she managed to collect US$3.60 as a result of her artistic efforts.

Badu quipped that a little hard work will get you some cash. To finish things off, the ever-political singer told viewers that life isn't easy and it's even "a lot harder than this."

For the record, Badu clarified that the video was made as her own social experiment.

"In no way is this video a reflection of my feelings about homeless or unfortunate families nor individuals who have no other means of survival in our world," she commented on the video after it went viral on YouTube.

"Instead, this short film was shot w/ my iPhone and edited in iMovie for entertainment purposes only and serves as a personal 'hustle' experiment for me."

Erykah Abi Wright, Badu was dubbed as the Queen of Neo-Soul and was famous for her signature large and colorful headwraps. Her first album, Baduizm was a huge hit financially and critically, establishing her name as one of the emerging neo soul genre's stars.

Badu released her second album, Mama's Gun in 2002, after taking some time off to raise her child. Badu's third album, Worldwide Underground, was released in 2003, followed by a fourth album, New Amerykah Part One in 2008. New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) was released in 2010 and was also a critical and commercial success.

Badu won four Grammy Awards. 

TagsErykah Badu