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    Erykah Badu The Alchemist Witch Doctor

    Two of music’s most revered iconoclasts are officially joining forces. Legendary soul visionary Erykah Badu and prolific hip-hop producer The Alchemist have announced their highly anticipated joint album, set for a digital release on Friday, August 28, 2026, via Control FREAQ Records and Young Recordings.

    Coinciding with the album’s release date announcement, the duo has unveiled their latest single, “Witch Doctor.” The new track follows the previously released collaborative single “Next To You” and the Amazon Music exclusive “Echos 19 (mix 122),” which notably debuted during Badu’s Echos 19 Juneteenth concert celebration in Dallas.

    The collaborative project, born out of what the artists call “The Abi and Alan Experiment,” was recorded over an 18-month period split between Dallas and Los Angeles. The musical partnership began taking shape more than three years ago when Badu mentioned to her longtime creative partner, Cold Cris, that she had always wanted to rap over Mobb Deep’s “The Realest”—a gritty, pounding instrumental produced by The Alchemist.

    Introductions were soon made, fulfilling The Alchemist’s long-held ambition to work with the neo-soul pioneer. Their initial Los Angeles studio session yielded the foundation for “Next to You” and established an entirely new sonic language for the duo.

    Throughout the recording process, The Alchemist provided a collection of his signature warm, punchy instrumental beats. Badu then deconstructed and sculpted the samples, embellishing them with her own instrumentation—ranging from soft kalimba notes to immersive drums and chords. The resulting sound refuses neat categorization, moving fluidly between soul, blues, funk, rock, jazz, and underground hip-hop.

    For R&B and soul purists, the upcoming album marks a monumental return. It arrives eleven years since Badu’s last full-length project and sixteen years since her last official studio album. During her musical hiatus, Badu remained active through a whirlwind of global touring, teaching, doula work, and motherhood, gathering existential insights that heavily inform this new deeply personal and blunt body of work.

    Meanwhile, The Alchemist continues his run as one of hip-hop’s most in-demand and prolific producers. He has consistently released multiple highly acclaimed projects annually, most recently dropping Alfredo 2 with Freddie Gibbs, the sequel to their Grammy-nominated 2020 collaborative album.

    Rather than keeping the music entirely behind closed doors, Badu and The Alchemist spent 2024 to 2025 road-testing the entire album live. Performing in intimate, phone-free settings alongside Badu’s digital collective, The Cannabinoids, and with The Alchemist on the MPC, the duo fine-tuned the tracks in real-time based on live energy.

    The two artists are currently taking this forward-thinking catalog on the road, with an ongoing tour across North America, the UK, and Europe. A new string of US dates was also recently announced to coincide with the album’s late-August rollout.

    “Witch Doctor” is available to stream now across all major digital platforms. Ticket information for the upcoming tour dates can be found on Erykah Badu’s official website.

    The post Erykah Badu & The Alchemist Unveil Release Date For Upcoming Album + Share New Single “Witch Doctor” appeared first on New R&B Music, Songs & Interviews | YouKnowIGotSoul.com.

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