Badu and the West Coast producer dropped their new song âNext to Youâ at midnight after she performed Badu Presents: Echos 19 in her hometown of Dallas as part of Forever in Rotation, Amazon Musicâs Juneteenth celebration.
According to a press release, the Dallas singer self-executive produced, wrote, composed, arranged and produced the single in collaboration with The Alchemist, who provided the beat from his classic 1999 record âThe Realestâ featuring the late Prodigy and Kool G Rap from Mobb Deepâs fourth album, Murda Muzik, for her to flip. And she did just that as she sang about wanting to smoke blunts and hang out after school with a significant other with the beat switching midway as Badu put her own ââizm on it.â
Erykah recently announced that she will be releasing music independently through her own label, Control FREAQ Records, which was established since 2005, and whose first signee was Jay Electronica, the father of her third child. She has been with Motown since 2007 and hasnât released a project since the 2015 mixtape But You Canât Use My Phone.
