Erykah Badu & The Alchemist – Before The World Blows (Album Review)

Erykah Badu and The Alchemist take us on a psychedelic, spiritual trip through the weird little corners of our own minds.

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TOP 5 SONGS

5. I Just Play A Part

“I Just Play A Part” felt like a hallucination, honestly. Like my third eye was opening, and I was having the “you know you a baddie” conversation with my inner self.

This track radiates confidence and sensuality, but it goes hand in hand with a cutthroat, poker-faced, “try me” vibe. It’s somehow both very intense and utterly transcendent. I don’t even know how else to describe it other than feeling like I temporarily left my body while listening.

4. Next 2 U

“Next 2 U” leans into a lighter, more familiar R&B sound compared to some of the album’s other tracks, but it doesn’t completely lose that sense of magic and mystery. I love the fun, repetitive beat, while the harmonies give the song this almost glittering quality.

At its core, the track is about wanting to spend time with someone you feel genuinely close to. Even the simplest things feel better when they’re around, and that’s really all the song asks for. It has this innocent, airy quality that makes it incredibly easy to enjoy.

3. Witch Doctor

“Witch Doctor” had a very hypnotic feel, which makes even more sense when you hear the lyrics. The track is about someone who can lure you in, cast a spell, and make you infatuated. It’s this slick, seductive type of person that has you unable to escape their grasp.

Don’t get it mistaken, though—we aren’t talking about normal witches. We’re talking Witch Doctors; powerful people meant to cleanse you, heal your mind, and rid you of darkness. The distinction matters. And honestly, that little bit of mysticism makes the track even more interesting.

2. To The Moon (Plan C) (Ft. Steve Lacy)

Okay, okay, I KNOW y’all are getting sick of my Top 5 lists being filled with Steve Lacy features, but come on. This feature was a little too good. Steve’s and Erykah’s voices contrast perfectly, and their personalities mesh so well. It’s madness.

“To The Moon (Plan C)” captures the chaos of love, life, and everything constantly changing around you. Things can move so quickly that you barely recognize yourself anymore, and looking back at who you used to be can feel like looking at a completely different person.

I love how introspective the track is without spelling everything out. There’s a beautiful vagueness to the writing that makes you think about what it all means, leaving you with more questions than answers.

1. I Know That Man

Earl Sweatshirt opens “I Know That Man” with unfiltered heat, straight realness, and that energy never lets up. Some of the bars in his verse genuinely had my mind reeling.

While I was completely locked into the lyrics, the gospel-forward, slightly psychedelic hip-hop production gave the track another dimension. The soft but powerful gospel chorus makes the whole thing feel even bigger. There’s something almost spiritual about the track, like it’s asking you to actually sit with what you’re hearing instead of letting it fade into the background.

SONG BY SONG RATING

Echos (4/5)

I Just Play A Part (4/5)

Crossfade (4/5)

Witch Doctor (4/5)

Valentine (4/5)

Next 2 U (4/5)

Love Me Not (4/5)

Breezy (4/5)

Abracadabra (N/A)

To The Moon (Plan C) (4/5)

They Ain’t You (4/5)

What The People Say (4/5)

Hot Bibi (4/5)

No I.D. (4/5)

I Know That Man (4/5)

Black Box (4/5)

RGM RATING

(B)

Erykah Badu teamed up with The Alchemist for her first album in over a decade, Before The World Blows, and the result is the kind of project that makes you question everything, look inward, and sit with your thoughts.

Sonically, the album gives me psychedelic neo-soul and alternative R&B. There’s so much creative flair packed into these songs that each one feels unique, personal, and unmistakably Erykah. The production constantly moves around you, with strange textures, little sounds, harmonies, and unexpected moments appearing throughout. It’s weird as hell, but in the best way.

Lyrically, this project is about life. That’s really the best way I can describe it. Even with the love songs throughout the tracklist, I wouldn’t call this a breakup or bedroom album. Before The World Blows spends more time examining the self: how you think, how you interact with people, where you flourish, and where you struggle. Erykah also touches on confidence, complicated decisions, and the different versions of ourselves that emerge depending on the situation.

This album feels like a therapy session, spiritual journey, and nostalgic trip through the past rolled into one. It’s introspective without dragging, strange without becoming inaccessible, and emotional without explaining every feeling to you. There’s always another detail to uncover, which makes this an album I can return to again and again.

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