Apparently, there was some severe confusion as to when The Alchemist and Erykah Badu were going to release Abi & Alan. It's their inaugural collab album and the latter's first record in nearly a full decade. The tape has been highly anticipated with rumblings of it surfacing in March 2025.
Fans thought the record was coming this Friday, August 29 after aggregators said it was going to. Unfortunately, Erykah Badu broke the heartbreaking news just hours before it was expected to be available. In an Instagram Live she said, "The Alchemist told me to tell y’all the album is not dropping at midnight."
In the subsequent caption for the livestream, the Mama's Gun creative jokingly told fans to be mad at the producer, not her. "Don't worry tho... No aug 29... It's @alanthechemist fault. [grinning face emoji]."
Expectedly, fans are upset about this disappointing update as they are currently voicing their frustrations on social media. But The Alchemist is claiming that he never once shared this detail about Abi & Alan.
He did so with a couple of tweets with the first reading, "Please show me where i said anything was coming out today." A user by the name of DeadShogunn replied with what looks to be a fairly official press release from someone in his or Badu's camp.
The Alchemist AI
It reads in part, "During the tour, they will exclusively premiere their collaborative album "Abi & Alan"— before the album hits streaming platforms on August 29.
The graphic even includes an alleged quote from Erykah herself. "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."
However, Uncle Al swears this was never posted by him. "This is not from me. Show me where i ever posted this lol." The same user admits he didn't see it from the beat smith directly but believes this was legit and mistake on the artist's part.
To clear the air, the California native delivered a PSA-like message. "If you follow me, you know when i got something to drop i make it very clear when its available and where."
Unfortunately, this confusion may turn fans away from what could be a great LP. There was already some controversy surrounding it after the duo used AI to create the cover art for the lead single, "Next To You." Al brushed it off pretty nonchalantly, though.
