The Alchemist Explains Why His Album With Erykah Badu Didn’t Drop as Expected

The Alchemist has offered an explanation as to why his joint album with Erykah Badu wasn’t released over the weekend.

Fans were eagerly awaiting the highly anticipated joint album from Erykah Badu and The Alchemist, titled Abi & Alan, to arrive on Friday (August 29), but they were hit with disappointment after the release never materialized. Moments before its expected arrival, Badu jumped on Instagram Live to set the record straight, stating that Alchemist had told her the project wasn’t dropping at that time.

Fans were upset and voiced their concerns about feeling misled about the supposed release date. However, Alchemist took to Twitter to clarify that he never said the album was arriving on Friday.

“Please show me where i said anything was coming out today,” he tweeted on X.

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One fan, under the name DeadShogunn, responded with what appeared to be an official press release that circulated online, citing the Friday release date. The document even included a quote attributed to Badu: “I’m excited to be able to share the music live first. I’ve always been a performer at heart, and this time, I get to present the work in the manner I love most.”

The Alchemist, however, denied any involvement: “This is not from me. Show me where i ever posted this lol,” he wrote.

To clear the air once and for all, Al doubled down: “If you follow me, you know when i got something to drop i make it very clear when its available and where.”

Excitement for Abi & Alan had been building since murmurs of its existence first surfaced in March. The album is Badu’s first in nearly a decade and her debut collaborative project with the acclaimed producer.

The AI-generated cover art for “Next to You” off the album got some heat from fans when it was released earlier this summer. However, Alchemist was unfazed by the criticism, posting on X: “It should be a case study how people just assume things on here, then make whole theories, commentaries, and get distraught lol. I like pretzels!”