NEWS
Blood Orange has announced his new album ‘Essex Honey’ and shared the first two tracks – listen to ‘Mind Loaded’ and ‘Somewhere In Between’ below.
The album will be the first album from Blood Orange – aka Dev Hynes – since 2018’s ‘Negro Swan’ and it will feature appearances from Hynes’ previous collaborators Lorde, Caroline Polachek, Daniel Caesar, Mustafa, Turnstile’s Brendan Yates and Tariq Al-Sabir.
Also appearing are author Zadie Smith, The Durutti Column, Wet’s Kelly Zutrau, Tirzah and actors Naomi Scott and Amandla Stenberg. The record is released on August 29 via RCA Records and you can pre-order it here.
The first tastes of ‘Essex Honey’ come in the form of ‘Mind Loaded’, a minimalist but blissfully warm track that features vocals from Polachek, Lorde and Mustafa, and ‘Somewhere In Between’, a busier, slinky R&B track. Listen to both here:
A press release states that ‘Essex Honey’ is an album that has been “created from a dreamscape of his journey working through grief” and harkens back to his childhood growing up in the titular county.
Earlier this month, Hynes announced details of a UK and European tour for Blood Orange that will kick off later this year. It follows on from his upcoming US tour and kicks off in Berlin on October 29, with London shows planned for November 8, 9 and 10. See the full list of dates here and find UK tickets here and international tickets here.
Several of his US dates will see him opening for Lorde on her huge tour supporting new album ‘Virgin’, several songs of which were produced by Hynes. He also played cello and bass on the single ‘Man Of The Year’ and synths and guitar on ‘Favourite Daughter’.
He continues to be one of the most in-demand producers in alternative music, with the news coming this week that he has worked on ‘We Are Love’, the forthcoming new album from The Charlatans.
He also appeared on Turnstile’s ‘Seein’ Stars’ from the album ‘Never Enough’ this summer, contributing backing vocals, and also played cello on ‘Never Enough’ and ‘Look Out For Me’.
In a five-star review of ‘Negro Swan’ in 2018, NME wrote: “Spoken-word interludes from writer and transgender activist Janet Mock pepper the album, punctuating the stream-of-conscious, journey-into-the-unknown experience. At times, ‘Negro Swan’ crosses over from album and into a radio station from a world just outside ours; Dev Hynes has created a fabulous collection of cascading sounds.”
Cardi B is feeling confident about the New York Knicks' chances in the 2026 NBA Finals. While attending Game 3 against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, the rapper gave a funny answer when Entertainment Tonight asked what a Knicks championship would mean for New York City.
“It’s gonna mean the rats will disappear, trees will start growing, potholes will be filled,” she joked while speaking with the outlet. “Rains of glitter coming down, the Statue of Liberty is going to finally walk.”
“It’s going to mean everything,” she continued. “Crimes will be solved!”
Naturally, the Bronx star wrapped up her comments by saying, “Go Knicks!”
The New York squad ultimately fell 115 to 111 on Monday evening, though they still hold a 2 to 1 advantage in the series. Two more victories would secure the franchise’s first NBA title since 1973. The Knicks also have not reached the Finals since 1999. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Cardi has long been a devoted Knicks supporter and has been spotted courtside at several games over the years. During Game 3, she entertained fans with a halftime performance before taking in the action from courtside alongside her 4 year old son, Wave.
She has never been shy about celebrating her love for New York City. Earlier this year, Cardi joined Mayor Zohran Mamdani to help introduce a music competition tied to his 2 K program, which provides free childcare for New Yorkers. “Can you believe that?! We have a 34 year old mayor! I feel like I’m a kid, and you’re, like, running New York!” she said to the mayor in a video promoting the contest.
Watch Cardi share her optimistic thoughts about the New York Knicks below.
