Erykah Badu is working on her first new album in 15 years
The record is being produced “solely” by The Alchemist
Erykah Badu is working on her first new album in more than 15 years, Billboard has confirmed.
In a new interview with Billboard, the legendary neo-soul and R&B artist confirmed that she’s been in the studio working on new music, which will make up her sixth album.
The album is set to be “solely” produced by US hip hop DJ and producer The Alchemist, though other details – including release date and album title – are currently unknown.
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Badu’s last full-length album landed in 2010, ‘New Amerykah Part Two (Return Of The Ankh)’, the sequel to a two-part project. After a five year hiatus in 2015, she released a mixtape titled ‘But You Caint Use My Phone’.
Speaking to Billboard, Badu said the album has been taking up “most of her time”, and that she’s looking forward to it being released.
In January, Erykah Badu was enlisted by Jamie xx on a brand new single, ‘F.U.’, landing on the deluxe edition of his recent album ‘In Waves’.
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The track features ad-libbed vocals from Badu, which were captured during an afterparty at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound festival in 2019, when a technical malfunction forced the music to stop.
“The decks stopped working and she just freestyled this incredible acapella performance, fully improvised, just her and the mic,” he said on Instagram after the track's release.
“I managed to record a bit of that, and it became the basis for the track. We connected about it when I was finishing the album and it became a track I really love.”
[Via Billboard]
Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter