Erykah Badu Postpones “Abi & Alan” Album Minutes Before Release—Blames Alchemist

Erykah Badu and The Alchemist pulled the plug on their collaborative album, Abi & Alan, just hours before its scheduled release, telling fans on Instagram Live Thursday (August 28) that the project would not arrive as planned. “The Alchemist told me to tell y’all the album is not dropping at midnight,” she said.

Th veteran neo-soul singer had been gearing up to drop her first full-length project in 15 years, a collaboration with acclaimed producer The Alchemist, on Friday (August 29). The album was expected to follow the momentum of “Next To You,” a new track she debuted during her free Juneteenth concert at The Bomb Factory in Dallas, which streamed live on Prime Video. It also marks her first release since her split with longtime label home, Motown Records.

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The delay came as a surprise to many, especially after Badu and The Alchemist wrapped a 10-city tour promoting the unreleased album.

The final stop took place August 24 at the ACL Moody Theater in downtown Austin, where the duo performed a set of entirely new material. The only familiar moments came when Badu briefly sang the first verse of her hit “On & On” and weaved in lines from “I Want You” and “Love Of My Life (An Ode To Hip Hop).”

Despite the setback, the tour gave audiences an early listen to the unreleased tracks, building anticipation for what would have been Badu’s first major release since 2010’s New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) and her 2015 mixtape, But You Caint Use My Phone.

As of Friday (August 29), no new release date has been announced.