Erick the Architect Announces Full Length Debut Solo Album I’ve Never Been Here Before (Out February 23)
Featuring Joey Bada$$, Westside Boogie, George Clinton, Channel Tres, Kimbra, Lalah Hathaway, RÜDE CÅT, Boy Boy, Pale Jay, FARR
With Production By James Blake, Linden Jay, T Minus
Watch / Listen To “Shook Up” Featuring Joey Bada$$ and FARR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtVG1IK85o0 / https://idol-io.ffm.to/shookup
November 29, 2023 - - Erick the Architect has announced his highly anticipated solo LP debut - I’ve Never Been Here Before will be released February 23, 2024. The double album features 16 tracks, 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. Several years in the making, Erick crafted it in his Los Angeles home studio, and it features several longtime collaborators and new friends: Joey Bada$$, Westside Boogie, George Clinton, Channel Tres, Kimbra, Lalah Hathaway, RÜDE CÅT, Boy Boy, Pale Jay and FARR. Also known as the main producer and founding member of influential Brooklyn rap group Flatbush Zombies, Erick worked with a number of producers including several tracks with celebrated electronic musician James Blake. The result is a statement-making collection of razor-sharp songs from an artist set free by being his authentic self, and embracing the vulnerability that comes with it. Read more on Rolling Stone.
Today he’s released “Shook Up” featuring Joey Bada$$ and FARR. Watch / Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtVG1IK85o0 / https://idol-io.ffm.to/shookup. “Shook Up” explores the earth-shaking feeling that comes with new love and represents the first time Erick and Joey Bada$$ have made something as a rap duo despite years of collaboration.
Says Erick: "I’ve known Joey forever! We’ve worked on so many things together, but this is the first time we officially have put out a song as a rap duo. I’ve always admired Joey’s ability to tell stories and he came to mind as soon as Linden and Romeo played me the demo of the record. I think people look at Joey and I as true lyricists. Through him and I never want to appear as one-dimensional, we’ve garnered a loyal fan base that expects us to give them substance. I loved bringing both of these worlds together, as I’m a huge fan of FARR as both producers and writers, and ‘Shook Up’ is the perfect marriage of hip-hop and soul in a way only we could create. I feel like we can all relate to songs about relationships, especially ones that pose a question: ‘Lust, or life? You can choose.’”
Joey Bada$$ says: “Collaborating with my good friend Erick on 'Shook Up' was a creative whirlwind that felt like catching lightning in a bottle. After all these years we are finally dropping our first collab together that features just the two of us. This single is more than a song—it's the fusion of our distinct styles, a testament to the endless possibilities when kindred minds that like to push boundaries meet."
While Erick is a voracious listener of music with wide-ranging tastes, his ideas are often sparked by films, books and art. He references Picasso, Brian Eno, Stevie Wonder, Annie Leibowitz, Keith Haring, Miles Davis and Marlon Brando as creative inspirations for his work and style. “People who revolutionize what they do,” he says.
Another of Erick’s spiritual influences: his mother, whose life and passing inspired these songs. He had accompanied her to church growing up, inspired by the music as well as the bond of community and the connection to his Jamaican roots. I’ve Never Been Here Before has religious allusions and references to family sewn throughout - including “Ezekiel’s Wheel,” inspired by the Biblical story. Erick’s mother had supported his earliest music-making endeavors, helping him afford his first piano and drum machine, and encouraging his experimental approach.
Other album highlights include “2-3 Zone,” one of the first songs made for the album, during an early session with James Blake that prompted Erick to focus on writing songs and lyrics and opening himself up to working with more producers in a way that he’d never considered before. “Beef Patty” is a dancehall love letter to his Jamaican roots. “Leukemia” featuring Kimbra is a devastating break-up song, a sonic representation of the grieving and recovery process. The “Strawberry Fields”-inspired “Breaking Point” could fit on the B-side of a Funkadelic long player, while the hard-edged “Mandevillian” imagines Erick in his villain era, inspired by a Godfather binge watch.
Erick has previously shared two songs from I’ve Never Been Here Before: "Parkour" produced by James Blake and "Ambrosia ft. Channel Tres" featuring Channel Tres. These tracks have earned praise from Stereogum, Consequence, Hypebeast, SPIN, KCRW, HipHopDX, Brooklyn Vegan, and WNYC, which highlights the "striking wordplay" on "Parkour," stating, "Whole essays and books have been written on 'othering,' but it’s hard to imagine anyone putting it more succinctly than Erick’s 'it’s regular to me/it’s foreign when it’s you.'"
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. He is currently on tour with Flatbush Zombies and will soon announce headlining dates for 2024.
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