Erykah Badu tapped The Alchemist to produce her upcoming sixth album.
The neo-soul pioneer, who will be honored with the Icon Award at Billboard Women in Music 2025 this month, was profiled by the publication in a new cover story. Towards the end of the piece, it was revealed that The Alchemist, known for working with Boldy James, Griselda and Roc Marciano, will executive produce the album, Badu’s first in fifteen years. The singer’s last album was New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) in 2010, followed by her mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone five years later.
Along with collaborating with the hip-hop beatmaker, Badu won her fifth Grammy in February for her “3:AM” collaboration with Rapsody. The vocalist also told Billboard about her enjoyment of rap’s current era.
“[The thing I like about rap right now] is the same thing I liked about rap when I first met it,” Badu said. “Rap is the people. Hip-hop is the people. It’s the folks. It’s the tribe.”
The mother of three continued, “I have the luxury of experiencing having children who I watch grow up and love and encourage very much, and I cannot separate them when I see artists who are that age coming up. That’s how they feel. They are continuing the tradition.”
The Alchemist’s latest release dropped last month, titled Life Is Beautiful, a joint project with Larry June and 2 Chainz.
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