Erick The Architect Releases “Instincts” Featuring Westside Boogie From Debut Solo Album I’ve Never Been Here Before (Out February 23)

Watch / Listen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDqz1CWdEk /  https://idol-io.ffm.to/instincts

January 26, 2024 — Erick the Architect has released a new single from his forthcoming debut solo album I’ve Never Been Here Before (out February 23). "Instincts," featuring Westside Boogie, explores the idea of trusting our intuitions without second guessing ourselves. The track opens with a 60s sweet-soul intro and snaps into a bright, ecstatic beat with a refrain sung by Erick: “Save me from this darkness I see, ‘cause I won’t feel at home ‘til I’m free.” 

Erick has also announced a 39-date international tour spanning March through May of this year to celebrate his new album. While the legendary rapper-producer has performed several solo shows as well as a recent run of sold-out dates with Flatbush Zombies, this will be his first extensive tour as a solo artist. See below for the full itinerary and go here for tickets and more information: https://www.erickthearchitect.com/tour

Watch / Listen to “Instincts” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDqz1CWdEk /  https://idol-io.ffm.to/instincts

“Instincts speaks on living everyday like it could be your last— The decisions you make today truly affect tomorrow’s outcome. Balancing your guttural instincts versus being pressured into a decision is something I’ve always had to juggle my entire life until I realized what feels right to me will always be the right choice. Growing up in the hood meant that you had to follow these innate feelings everyday to survive, and I’m grateful to have learned these lessons early on. WESTSIDE BOOGIE is one of my favorite lyricists and I knew he would deliver the perfect verse based on what I learned from listening to his story in his music.” — Erick the Architect

“Teaming up with Erick for "Instincts" was dope. The track captures that struggle between survival and staying true to yourself. Erick's vision resonated w me, and I wanted to echo that sentiment. It's all about choices that match who you are, despite external pressures. Erick set the perfect tone for this song. Collaborating was an honor, diving into our shared grasp of life's decisions and their impacts.” — WESTSIDE BOOGIE

I’ve Never Been Here Before presents 16 tracks and features production on multiple songs by James Blake, and guests including Joey Bada$$, Channel Tres, Lalah Hathaway, Westside Boogie and more. The album is a deeply personal and powerful work that explores themes of fearlessness, Black resilience, beauty in darkness and unity over a thrilling mix of hip-hop, soul, dub, psych and beyond. The result is a statement-making collection of razor-sharp songs from an artist set free by being his authentic self, and embracing the vulnerability that comes with it. 

In November, Erick announced the album in an exclusive feature with Rolling Stone which describes it as “a winding, perilous, and deeply personal body of work that celebrates [Erick’s] mastery as both a storyteller and conductor of his own authentic sound.” Alongside his most recent single, “Ezekiel’s Wheel” featuring the legendary George Clinton (and a corresponding Market merch collaboration designed by Erick), Erick had earlier shared three songs from the album: ”Shook Up” featuring Joey Bada$$, "Parkour" produced by James Blake and "Ambrosia”featuring Channel Tres. These four tracks have earned praise from Stereogum, Consequence, Hypebeast, Fader, XXL, SPIN, KCRW, HipHopDX, HotNewHipHop, Brooklyn Vegan, WNYC and Billboard who says “if ‘Ezekiel’s Wheel’ is anything to go by, we’re in for a stunner of an album.” Erick was also recently featured on Track Star.  

Erick the Architect has reached unrivaled heights in the music industry as a solo artist and with Flatbush Zombies, including amassing more than 900 million streams, debuting on the Billboard 200, and collaborating with a veritable who’s who of over 50 artists including Denzel Curry, Danny Brown, Tech N9ne, and Portugal. The Man. He’s also performed in festivals around the world, been featured in publications like Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Fader, Hypebeast, Complex and Esquire, and performed on multiple late-night shows with the hip-hop supergroup Beast Coast. 

In 2021 he released the Future Proof EP, and has also scored the original music featured in the new documentary film THE CHOICE IS YOURS (out now on Paramount+), which explores the life of rapper and artist Andres “Dres” Vargas-Titus, part of the legendary 90’s hip hop duo Black Sheep.

Tour Dates:

March 25 - Austin, TX - Come and Take it Live

March 26 - Dallas, TX - HOB - Cambridge Room

March 27 - Houston, TX - HOB - Bronze Peacock

March 29 - Orlando, FL - The Social

March 30 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade (Hell)

April 01 - Washington DC - Union Stage

April 02 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall

April 03 - Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere (The Hall)

April 04 - Philadelphia, PA - The Foundry @ The Fillmore

April 06 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground (Showcase Lounge)

April 08 - Toronto, ON - The Velvet Underground

April 10 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups

April 11 - Detroit, MI - El Club

April 12 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's

April 16 - Vancouver, BC -Fortune Sound Club

April 17 - Seattle, WA - Neumos

April 18 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne

April 20 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

April 22 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex

April 24 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad

April 25 - Mesa, AZ - The Nile

April 26 - Santa Ana, CA - Constellation Room

May 01 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy

May 03 - San Francisco, CA - Brick & Mortar

May 04 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Catalyst (The Atrium)

May 08  - Manchester, UK - Gorilla

May 09 - London, UK - Scala

May 11 - Cologne, Germany - CBE

May 13 - Brussels, Belgium - Orangerie @ Botanique

May 14 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Bitterzoet

May 16 - Paris, France - Badaboum

May 17 - Zurich, Switzerland - Plaza

May 18 - Vienna, Austria - Flex

May 20 - Warsaw, Poland - Hybrydy

May 21 - Berlin, Germany - Frannz Club

May 22 - Copenhagen, Denmark - VEGA Small Hall

May 23 - Stockholm, Sweden - Nalen Klubb

May 25 - Oslo, Norway - Parkteatret