The Alchemist just dropped off an album of the year candidate in Alfredo 2, which tapped back in with Freddie Gibbs, but he's dropping even more heat with Erykah Badu. Their new collab album Abi & Alan, according to @big_business_ on Twitter, just got its official release date.
Furthermore, this announcement follows The Alchemist and Erykah Badu's ongoing joint tour to play this new record for fans live for the first time. It began last week on Friday, August 8, and the small nine-city trek will wrap up on August 24. This was die-hards' first opportunity to hear the full-length link-up, and many fans are singing the project's praises online. Also, they continue to shout out both artists for their hard work this year.
However, not everyone is happy with Abi and Alan. Erykah Badu and The Alchemist's embrace of A.I. on the cover art for their "Next To You" single drew a lot of controversy among fans. Neither artist seemed to care too much about it or pay the criticism any significant mind. Instead, they just brushed the critique off and hope the art speaks for itself.
Freddie Gibbs And The Alchemist
We will see exactly what Abi & Alan has in store once it comes out on Friday, August 29. This will be just a few days after The Alchemist and Erykah Badu wrap up their tour, and we will see if they release any more material previewing the record before we get the whole thing.
Uncle Al is one of hip-hop's most prolific producers in the mainstream, so to see yet another LP so soon is no surprise. Before his Gibbs sequel just a few weeks ago, he dropped the 2 Chainz and Larry June collaborative album, Life Is Beautiful.
As for Badu, this is her first project in ten years, so fans are understandably very ecstatic for what the neo-soul legend will offer listeners. Whether or not more controversies and debates pop up amid this whole process is a question we're quite apprehensive about. But it seems unlikely. In any case, fans are very excited to dive in about two weeks from now.
