NEWS
Erykah Badu has a new album on the way, and it’s set to be produced entirely by The Alchemist.
In an interview with Billboard published on Wednesday (March 19), Badu confirmed that her sixth studio album – her first LP in over 15 years – is currently in progress.
“The album has been taking up most of her time; she says she can’t wait until she’s done,” the publication wrote.
Badu and the legendary producer first teased a collab back in December, when Alc posted a series of photos showing them in the lab.
He captioned the montage “Life altering,” but didn’t elaborate any further as to what they were working on.
Erykah Badu’s last studio album was March 2010’s New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh), which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. Later that year she released her first and only compilation album, Icon, and in 2015, she released her first and only mixtape, But You Caint Use My Phone.
Since then, the elusive artist has only jumped on a handful of features – most recently being Rapsody‘s Grammy Award-winning “3:AM.”
The track is an ode to the joys of late night love and features both artists paying homage to the people that make them feel best.
Rapsody spits: “You feel like a healer/ I know I’m imperfect/ Tho you make me feel like Jesus/ Or how God sees us/ Not afraid to show my insecurities like Issa,” cleverly referring to Issa Rae’s TV show Insecure.
She adds: “Everything I hid you always peeped it/ When it’s darkest we always attract/ The brightest people/ Baby, you a light/ You shift my whole world to the right/ Nothing left but.”
Of the song, Rapsody told VIBE: “[“3:AM” is] the one record I have enjoyed the most because it was a process, and getting to know [Badu] more and building a deeper friendship. […] She taught me, just in that one song and interacting the way we did, that art can’t be rushed; you take your time and really get what you want to say and how you want to say and live with it. So that was a beautiful experience. She really elevated that record.”
The track, which lives on Rapsody’s 2024 album Please Don’t Cry, went on to win a 2025 Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance.
At the BTS concert in Tokyo on Friday (April 17), j-hope opened up to ARMY with heartbreaking news. His grandmother, who played a major role in raising him and had always been proud of his journey with the group, has passed away.
Speaking to the packed crowd at the Tokyo Dome, the K-pop star chose to be open with fans about what he was going through. “Honestly, this might be a bit of a heavy thing to share, but I really wanted to express how I’m feeling today,” he said, translated from Korean into English. “Right after we arrived in Japan, I got the news that my maternal grandmother, the one who raised me from when I was little, had passed away.”
“I felt completely stunned and did not really know how to process it at first, but being around the members, sitting down together for meals, and focusing on rehearsals helped me more than I thought it would,” j-hope went on. “My grandmother was always incredibly proud, not just of me but of all the members. She truly believed in what we do. So I feel like if she was watching from above today, she would have loved every second of it.”
He closed by thanking the audience for making his first performance after the loss feel meaningful and full of support.
BTS are currently touring in support of their new album ARIRANG, which has just earned a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Following three opening shows in Goyang, South Korea, the group is set to perform twice at the Tokyo Dome before heading abroad for the North American leg. Before the tour wraps in March next year, they will also visit Latin America, Europe, Australia, and several other regions across Asia.
On the same day as the first Tokyo concert, j-hope’s solo interview with Rolling Stone was released. During the conversation, he spoke about stepping into a leadership presence within the group. “I think that’s my role on the team,” he shared. “It just comes naturally. It feels strange to even call it a role, but I just try to handle things as they come and support the other members in any way I can.”
Additional reporting from Billboard Korea.
