Erykah Badu and The Alchemist are teaming up for a full collaborative album, arriving August 28th. The project, currently titled “Sorry, we don’t have an album title yet…,” came together after Badu expressed interest in rapping over Alchemist’s beat for Mobb Deep’s “The Realest.” That single conversation blossomed into 18 months of recording sessions between Dallas and LA, producing a sound that pulls from soul, blues, funk, rock, jazz, and underground hip-hop.

The first single, “Witch Doctor,” is streaming now. At nearly 6.5 minutes, the track is a soulful, percussion-heavy showcase for Badu’s lyrical exploration of what a witch really is. She raps, “A witch is just a medium/ And a medium like the media/ And you eat it up, what they feedin’ you/ That’s witchcraft, that’s witchcraft.” It’s a playful but pointed commentary on media consumption that’s already sparking conversation across social platforms.

To support the project, Badu and The Alchemist announced a fall North American tour with De La Soul starting September 10th. This comes after Badu released a 25th anniversary reissue of her classic album Mama’s Gun earlier this year. With two icons from different corners of Black music coming together, plus a legendary group like De La Soul on the bill, this is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated musical moments of the fall. What are your thoughts on this unlikely pairing? Drop a comment below.

 photo courtesy of Control FREAQ Records/Young Recordings