DALLAS — You never quite know what to expect when you interact with Erykah Badu. It's part of her charm.
And on the day that Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) formally unveiled its collaboration with the four-time Grammy-winning Dallas native, the unexpected again reigned supreme.
Outside of her alma mater, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, as she sat inside of one of the three DART buses (and two light rail cars) now bearing her face and designs -- in a window seat, of course -- Badu acknowledged that she was feeling the weight of the unexpected herself.
"Comedy is my coping mechanism, so I'm joking," she said, laughing through her grill about the wild notion that her face is emblazoned on Dallas public transit vehicles. "But inside I am so emotional and ecstatic and grateful. I really am."
While never one at a loss for words, Badu had a little trouble coming to terms with what the honor meant to her.
First, she tried to reconcile how the idea came to be in the first place.
Turns out, the comedic actor Seth Rogen deserves that credit.
Earlier in the afternoon, at the formal press conference introducing the buses and rails to DART's fleet, DART Board of Directors member Patrick Kennedy revealed how the idea first percolated six years ago when he spotted the news that Rogen would be voicing the public transit announcements in his hometown of Vancouver.
He figured Dallas should try the same concept -- and, at the time, he openly wondered on social media if Dallas hometown hero Badu would be the right person for the job.
A mere six years later, it turned out she would be.
"They called, and I said yes," Badu said.
While certainly owing to Rogen's own public transit collaboration, Badu and DART's partnership is not exactly the same as its inspiration. For instance, Badu's voice won't be ringing out and announcing upcoming stops along each bus and rail line across the 13 North Texas cities DART serves. But, beyond her face being plastered on the outsides of these vehicles, riders will hear announcements voiced by Badu from time to time -- PSAs centered around the idea of respectful ridership.
It's exciting new territory for Dallas' public transit system, said DART CEO Nadine Lee. And while the partnership is the first of its kind for DART, it might not be the last.
"We hope that this sets the precedent for having other collaborations with other people," Lee said. "Ms. Badu has been so kind to us. It's hard to say, 'Let's go with someone else!' [already] because she's been so great, but certainly there are a lot of people who are famous celebrities who come from the Dallas area, so we'll always seek to work with people who represent DART, Dallas and the whole community."
For Badu in particular, there was a personal history with the DART that made such a collaboration a natural fit.
"I used to catch the bus," she said. "I really started my bus career in school. My mom had a job. My grandma worked. Everyone worked. So we were taught to ride the bus."
That she's not just in the bus now -- but on it -- is something she said she cherishes, and that helps put her career into perspective for her.
"My whole city can see this," she said. "I wish my grandmas were here to see this. They also rode the bus. I'm five generations Dallas. I belong here."
And that she can now say that during Black History Month, mere decades removed from a time when that could never have been the case, makes it even more special.
It's something she said she's still processing.
“My face is on a bus now, and not too long ago, I would have been forced to ride in the back," Badu said. "It’s a little overwhelming."