Erykah Badu and The Alchemist announced plans to release a joint album, after working on it for quite a while. The album, titled Abi & Alan, drops on August 29. It will mark the release of Alchemist's second album in about a month. It will also mark the first full-length Erykah Badu release of any kind since 2015's But You Caint Use My Phone mixtape.
To commemorate the release of the new album, the duo announced that they'd be going on tour to premiere it. The tour is not lasting very long. It begins next Friday (August 8) and is only nine dates, concluding on August 24. Three of the dates are already sold out, a remarkable feat considering how fresh the announcement is.
"I'm excited to be able to share the music live first," Erykah Badu said in a press release. "I've always been a performer at heart, and this time, I get to present the work in the manner I love most."
Erykah Badu & The Alchemist Collab
Badu and The Alchemist released the first single for the forthcoming album, "Next To You," on June 20. They have not released a follow-up single, and may just be waiting for the full project to drop instead of putting out several teasers. It sounds as lush as one would expect, and their album will likely prove to be among the stronger releases in the R&B space this year.
In October, Erykah Badu will go back on the road for another tour. That one will be for her classic second album, Mama's Gun, which turns 25 in November. But if you want to see her sooner, you will have to try and secure tickets for her and Alchemist's quick trip around the country.
