Erykah Badu and The Alchemist have locked in a release date for their first full collaborative album. The project arrives digitally on Friday, August 28, 2026, through Control FREAQ Records and Young Recordings.
The announcement lands alongside the new single “Witch Doctor.” It follows earlier tracks “Next To You” and the Amazon Music exclusive “Echos 19 (mix 122),” which debuted during Badu’s Juneteenth concert celebration in Dallas.
Recording stretched across 18 months in Dallas and Los Angeles. The pair first connected after Badu told her partner she had long wanted to rap over an Alchemist beat from Mobb Deep’s “The Realest.” Their initial Los Angeles session produced “Next To You” and set the tone for the rest of the album. The Alchemist sent over a batch of instrumentals. Badu took them apart and rebuilt them with kalimba, extra chords, drums and other layers, creating a sound that slips between soul, blues, funk, rock, jazz and underground hip-hop without settling into any single category.
From 2024 into 2025, the duo road-tested the material in intimate, phone-free shows with Badu’s collective The Cannabinoids and The Alchemist on the MPC. The result is described as one of the most forward-looking bodies of work either artist has made.
Badu and The Alchemist are already touring North America, the UK and Europe, with a fresh set of U.S. dates just announced. The schedule includes:
September 10 – Highland Park, IL – Ravinia Festival
September 11 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheater
September 13 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheater
September 15 – Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion
September 17 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
September 18 – Forest Hills, NY – Forest Hills Stadium
September 20 – Washington, D.C. – Wolf Trap
September 22 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater
September 24 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
September 26 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
September 27 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre
September 28 – Highland, CA – Yaamava Theater
September 29 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
Tickets are available at erykahbadu.com. The album is available for pre-order now.
