Despite only three concerts on her current UK tour and her last album's release fifteen years ago, Erykah Badu's impact on Neo-soul and modern R&B is undeniable.

Her current world tour celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of her second neo-soul album, Mama’s Gun, which successfully mixed soul, jazz, and funk into a cohesive unit, making the album a reference point for the neo-soul genre.

Whilst her music might be flawless, Badu’s timekeeping was quite the opposite: on a weekend wherneo-soulwhene British summertime had ended,when, it appeared that her watch had stopped,, as the singer arrived on stage at the Manchester Apollo at a time when other acts that have graced the Mancunian stage were doing their final encore. After waiting almost twenty years to see Badu perform in the north again, the sold-out audience didn’t seem to mind the additional hours of delay.

Her stage presence was as commanding as ever; every move and nuance was captivating. Add to that the songs from her landmark album, and suddenly the tone became timeless.

The three lead tracks off Mama’s Gun – Didn’t Cha Know, My Life and Cleva – followed in quick succession, with the latter giving Badu the opportunity to disrobe herself on a night where Badu had nothing to prove – this had been an evening that her diehard fans had waited for years to happen.

Paying homage to the late D’Angelo was not that surprising; both artists have successfully married R&B and soul together.

The house lights at the Apollo were turned on as Badu and her band played on with the curfew time being exceeded as Green Eyes was delivered in a raw and emotional performance, ending a night that was perpetual in more ways than one.