Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment CASSETTE

This cassette pairs Erykah Badu's first full set of new music since 2010 with production from The Alchemist, built on the dense, sample-heavy style that's become his trademark. Badu has said the whole thing started because she wanted to rap over one of his beats, pulled from a sample of Mobb Deep's 1999 track "The Realest". The guest list runs long for a tape this size: Steve Lacy, Earl Sweatshirt, Thundercat, Kamasi Washington, and Westside Gunn, who turns up twice across the tracklist.