
Erykah Badu performs live on stage at Espaço Unimed on November 6, 2024 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Photo by Mauricio Santana/Getty Images.
Erykah Badu performs live on stage at Espaço Unimed on November 6, 2024 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The project is the neo-soul legend’s first album in 15 years.
Soul icon Erykah Badu has announced that she’s working on a new album with superproducer The Alchemist. The project is Badu’s first studio album since 2010's New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) and her first major release since her But You Caint Use My Phone mixtape in 2015.
Badu is being honored with the Icon Award at Billboard’s Women in Music 2025 this month, and the album was announced in a new feature for Billboard. Known for his acclaimed work with Griselda, Larry June and many others, The Alchemist will serve as executive producer for what will be Erykah Badu's first studio album in fifteen years.
She neo-soul superstar had previously hinted at the project during an appearance on The Breakfast Club last year.“I mean, I’m writing right now. I got a project coming out soon,” she said at the time.
When pressed about a release date, she was characteristically vague.
“We’ll see,” Badu answered–before adding: “It’s an important one. It’s a collab album.”
In the interview with Billboard, the 54-year-old explained that hip-hop still inspires her.
“[The thing I like about rap right now] is the same thing I liked about rap when I first met it,” she said. “Rap is the people. Hip-hop is the people. It’s the folks. It’s the tribe. 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.”
In February, Badu won her fifth Grammy for her track "3:AM" with Rapsody.
Hosted by Laverne Cox, the 2025 Billboard Women in Music is on Saturday, March 29, at YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California.