Black Thought & El Michels Affair Prep Joint Project With "Grateful"

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Black Thought and El Michels Affair's joint project, "Glorious Games" is due out in April.

Black Thought and El Michels Affair joined forces for a brand new single off of their upcoming collaborative project.

This morning, Black Thought and El Michels Affair came through with their first single, "Grateful." Black Thought's rhyme play and veteran-level skillset meets the smooth, jazzy production of El Michels Affair for a certified heater. El Michel cook up flute-laden production, accentuated by a haunting vocal sample and woozy guitar riffs. It's undoubtedly a perfect soundscape for Black Thought's vivid storytelling and slick wordplay.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 26: Black Thought attends Project Name: BET Hip Hop 50. A Love Letter To Hip Hop on December 26, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

Black Thought and El Michels Affair's new single kicks off the campaign for Glorious Game, due out on April 14th. The project boasts 12 songs in total with appearances from Kirby and Brainstory.

The two parties are no stranger to one another. They began working together in the early 2000s during a string of charity concerts in NYC and Philadelphia. However, the pandemic opened the gates for a more concentrated collaborative effort after Black Thought reached out to Michels to work on some material.

While we might not get another project from The Roots in the foreseeable future, Black Thought has kept his foot on the gas over the past few years. In 2022, he teamed up with Danger Mouse for their joint effort, Cheat Codes, which later landed on HNHH's Hottest Hip-Hop Albums Of The Year list.

Check out the new single below and keep your eyes peeled for more music from The Roots frontman and El Michels. We're certainly excited to hear Glorious Game in full.

Quotable Lyrics
One for the will of man, two for the kilogram
Three for the cold killer who can still be a millionaire
Feelin' the frigid air, big plates and silverware
Where everybody eat except the one who was ill-prepared

About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.