Erykah Badu and the Alchemist Release Collaborative Album ‘Before the World Blows’

Erykah Badu’s first proper album since 2010 has arrived, and it places her in a different kind of conversation. Before the World Blows: The Abi & Alan Experiment pairs Badu with producer the Alchemist across 16 tracks, following studio teasers in late 2024 and a North American tour where phones were locked away in Yondr pouches.

The record comes after a decade of guest spots and the 2015 mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone, rather than any rushed return. Its guest list includes Jay Electronica, DJ Quik, and Westside Gunn, and the lead single “Next 2 U” carries a video built partly with A.I.-enhanced art. That choice reads less as novelty than as a deliberate nod to how Badu has long treated technology as a subject, not a threat.

For the Alchemist, the project follows a strong run of collaborations, including 2022’s The Elephant Man’s Bones with Roc Marciano. For Badu, it is the most substantial work since New Amerykah Part One. Together, the album frames its collaborators as analog devotees working through present-day friction, groupthink, screen time, and uncertainty, with a looseness that feels rare in current R&B and hip-hop.