Erykah Badu & Alchemist drop new single “Next to You”

Erykah Badu and producer The Alchemist have reunited for a poised return with the single “Next to You”, released June 20, 2025. The track marks Badu’s first studio offering since 2010’s New Amerykah Pt. 2: Return of the Ankh and follows her 2015 mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone. 

Produced entirely by The Alchemist, the song merges lax, guitar-laced beats with Badu’s unmistakable neo‑soul lyricism—on lines like “Follow me and we gon’ break the rules… You’re the only one that gets me high,” she blends intimate longing with rebellious poetics.”

The collaboration, titled Abi & Alan, positions itself as a tightly knit creative union: Badu self-produced elements of the song—synths, horn arrangements—while The Alchemist provided the foundational groove. Its production, described in press and reviews, is a “trippy beat and addicting guitar groove” that serves as a fitting backdrop for Badu’s throaty, contemplative vocals.

Badu has said in a March Billboard interview that the forthcoming album, her first in 15 years and due this summer on her Control FREAQ Records label, “has been taking up most of her time; she can’t wait until she’s done.”.

To support the release, the duo will tour Japan later this month with shows in Osaka (June 24), Tokyo (June 28), and Yokohama (June 30), marking Badu’s first visit to Japan in about eight years. Additionally, they’ll headline the 2025 Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans on July 5.