Photo Credit: Adraint Bereal
Erykah Badu and The Alchemist have released their joint album, Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment, marking their first full-length collaborative project together.
Released digitally via Control FREAQ Records, Young Recordings and Remote Control Records, the album was recorded over 18 months between Dallas and Los Angeles.
The project brings together Badu’s distinctive approach to songwriting and performance with The Alchemist’s production, resulting in a 16-track album that explores love, art, identity, memory, dreams and personal growth.
The album unfolds across four movements, with Badu reflecting on which parts of ourselves and our stories are worth protecting as the world changes.
The collaboration began more than three years ago after Badu told her longtime creative partner Cold Cris that she wanted to rap over Mobb Deep’s “The Realest”, a production by The Alchemist. The Alchemist had also been hoping to work with Badu for years, leading to their introduction and eventually to the development of the album.
Their first studio session together in Los Angeles produced “Next 2 U”, establishing the foundation for the wider project. The Alchemist subsequently sent Badu instrumental beats, which she deconstructed and reshaped, adding instruments including kalimba, chords and drums.
Between 2024 and 2025, the pair road-tested the album live in intimate, phone-free settings alongside Badu’s digital collective, The Cannabinoids, with The Alchemist performing on the MPC. The performances allowed the material to be refined before the album’s release.
The album’s rollout began with cryptic “One More Song…” posters appearing in Sydney, Melbourne, London, Paris and New York City. Codes connected to the posters directed fans to an interactive website where they could solve clues revealing the album title.
The campaign continued with “Witch Doctor”, accompanied by a Badu-directed music video that premiered alongside a special screening of her 2010 video “Window Seat”.
The 16-track album features collaborations with DJ Creole Princess, Westside Gunn, Joi, DRAM, Steve Lacy, Thundercat, Earl Sweatshirt and Kamasi Washington.
Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment is Badu’s first full-length project since 2015’s But You Caint Use My Phone and her first official studio album since 2010’s New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh).
Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment is out now via Control FREAQ, Young and Remote Control Records.
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