Erykah Badu has paid tribute to George Floyd to mark what would have been his 48th birthday.

Badu brought Floyd’s family backstage with her on Wednesday (12 October) where she was playing The Minneapolis Armoury.

In a clip shared to social media, Badu says: “People of planet Earth, we’re about four minutes away from George Floyd’s birthday,” she said in the clip.

“He would’ve been 48 years old and I’m here with his family now. It seems like we have a moment of peace right now and we know that your life was not in vain.”

“Thank you for your spirit and your sacrifice,” she added. “So that we can move on the way that we should, be where we supposed to as a people.”

Erykah Badu backstage in Minneapolis with the late #GeorgeFloyd family on his birthday. ??✊?? pic.twitter.com/cT6j5sZw8q

— Riki P. (@itsrikip) October 14, 2021

Ex-police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty for the murder of George Floyd back in April. 

Chauvin was today found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter by a jury after they deliberated the case for almost nine hours.

The 12-strong-jury began their deliberations on Monday afternoon (April 19) following three weeks of testimonies from 45 witnesses. They unanimously convicted Chauvin of all charges against him after concluding that he killed Floyd through a criminal assault.

Chauvin was sacked following Floyd’s death last year on May 25 and was later charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter on May 29. Three other officers, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Keung Tuesday were also charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder, and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

Distressing footage emerged soon after Floyd’s altercation with police which showed him being restrained on the ground by Chauvin, who placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes. Despite Floyd’s continued pleas that he couldn’t breathe, Chauvin continued to apply pressure to Floyd’s neck. A lack of oxygen caused brain damage, heart failure and eventually death.

The murder of Floyd sparked outrage last year with protesters around the world taking to the streets following news of the incident.

Following Floyd’s death, the city of Minneapolis pledged to disband its police department after a majority of city council members backed the move.

Nine of the Minneapolis City Council’s 12 members voted for the huge change and vowed to introduce constructive alternatives after Floyd died in police custody. Lisa Bender, the Minneapolis council president, said at the time: “It is clear that our system of policing is not keeping our communities safe. Our efforts at incremental reform have failed, period.”