Erykah Badu and The Alchemist: Before the World Blows, eleven years on

Music

Erykah Badu returned on 28 August 2026, and she did not come alone. Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment, made with The Alchemist, is her first project in eleven years — since the 2015 mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone.

Eighteen months between Dallas and Los Angeles

The record was made over a year and a half, between Dallas, Badu’s city, and Los Angeles, home of Alan Maman — The Alchemist’s real name. The subtitle, The Abi and Alan Experiment, tells you the important part: this is not a Badu album produced by Alchemist, it is a meeting between two people who sign it together.

The release was preceded by the singles “Witch Doctor”, “Next To You” and “Echos 19 (mix 122)”.

Who you hear

The guest list mixes generations and schools: Steve Lacy, Thundercat and DRAM on the sung parts, with verses from Westside Gunn and Earl Sweatshirt.

That fits the position Alchemist has occupied for years now: a producer sought after simultaneously by the most demanding rap and the most unbound soul.

Why the return matters

Eleven years is a long time. Badu did not disappear — she toured, collaborated, held a particular place in the culture — but she had not put her name to a project of her own.

For a generation of listeners she is the reference point for what was called neo-soul: a voice that refuses the straight line, a way of placing words slightly off the beat. Hearing that voice over Alchemist productions, known for dusty loops and heavy low end, was an idea people wanted without quite believing it would happen.

The title, Before the World Blows, is not accidental either. It says something about the moment, and about the urgency of doing the thing now.

Worth a listen

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