ERYKAH BADU & THE ALCHEMIST REVEAL FULL ALBUM DETAILS: ‘BEFORE THE WORLD BLOWS’ OUT 28 AUGUST
Erykah Badu and The Alchemist today reveal full details of their highly anticipated joint album, due digitally on 28 August 2026. Titled Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment, the co-produced project was recorded over 18 months between Dallas and Los Angeles. The result is the inevitable collision of two iconoclasts: hypnotic, funny, blunt, deeply personal, and impossible to categorize neatly.
Ahead of the announcement, alongside the release of the album’s latest single, “Witch Doctor,” cryptic posters began appearing across Sydney, Melbourne, London, Paris, and New York City bearing the phrase “One More Song…”, accompanied by a code, that also appeared on placeholder album artwork, and the website www.b-t-w-b.com. Fans who visited the site were challenged to decipher a series of clues that ultimately revealed the album’s title: Before the World Blows.
The mystery deepens with the launch of BADU BURNER PHONE: “ONE MO ______ BEFORE THE WORLD BLOWS.”
Ahead of the album’s release, Badu is giving fans a direct line to the Badu Burner Phone, with the chance to speak with her live via FaceTime or video call. By visiting www.b-t-w-b.com, fans can enter an interactive experience that unlocks a phone number through a series of challenges.
Participants begin by joining Badu’s mailing list and decoding the album title. Those who successfully complete the challenge will unlock the Badu Burner Phone number. Callers must then provide the decoded album title as a passphrase for a chance to be connected directly with Badu, who will invite select participants to complete the phrase:
“One Mo ______ Before the World Blows.”
Inspired by the poem BTWB, callers are encouraged to fill in the blank with a word of their choosing, creating their own interpretation of the album’s central theme. Select conversations will be recorded and incorporated into the wider BTWB campaign, making fans part of the album’s evolving visual and creative narrative.
The latest preview of the album, “Witch Doctor,” arrived with a music video directed by and starring Erykah Badu, with cinematography by Ayinde Anderson. The video premiered via a special one-off screening paired with an iconic prequel: Badu’s iconic 2010 short film “Window Seat.” Sixteen years later, Badu returns to the same stretch of road with a new perspective, exploring what remains after the world has taken everything it can from an artist, and pointing toward the one thing it can never manufacture, categorize, or possess: the source itself.
Erykah Badu & The Alchemist
Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment
Control FREAQ Records / Young Recordings
28 August 2026
Tracklist:
1. Echos
2. I Just Play A Part
3. Crossfade (feat. DJ Creole Princess, Westside Gunn, Joi)
4. Witch Doctor
5. Valentine (feat. DRAM)
6. Next 2 U
7. Love Me Not 8. Breezy
9. Abracadabra
10. To The Moon (Plan C) (feat. Steve Lacy)
11. They Ain’t You (feat. Thundercat)
12. What The People Say (Apostle 1)
13. Hot BiBi (Apostle 2)
14. No I.D. (feat. Westside Gunn)
15. I Know That Man (feat. Earl Sweatshirt)
16. Black Box (feat. Kamasi Washington)
Erykah Badu + The Alchemist joint tour Dates:
Sep 10, 2026 – Highland Park, IL – Ravinia Festival
Sep 11, 2026 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre
Sep 13, 2026 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre
Sep 15, 2026 – Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion
Sep 17, 2026 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
Sep 18, 2026 – Forest Hills, NY – Forest Hills Stadium
Sep 20, 2026 – Washington, D.C. – Wolf Trap
Sep 22, 2026 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater
Sep 24, 2026 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
Sep 26, 2026 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Sep 27, 2026 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre
Sep 28, 2026 – Highland, CA – Yaamava Theater
Sep 29, 2026 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
