Bilal – Airtight’s Revenge – OUT NOW
Grammy-nominated musical artist Bilal returns with his third studio album, Airtight’s Revenge, which was released September 14 through Plug Research Music and distributed through The Orchard.
A provocative genre-bending album that dissects love, politics and relationships, Airtight’s Revenge demonstrates the Philly-bred singer’s growth as an artist. “It’s a mix of jazz, hip-hop, soul, blues, and experimental free music,” says Bilal. The differences in economical social classes inspired the track “Robots,” which scrutinizes societal and governmental effects on people. After watching the 2007 documentary, “Zeitgeist: The Movie,” Bilal wrote “Who R U.” “Of all religions, I drive to be human,” says Bilal. At the end of the day, we are all one. We need to connect with the spiritual side of ourselves; we don’t need to inflict that on others. It’s OK to have free thought. “Little Ones,” a smooth track with a soulful sound is dedicated to his sons. “My youngest son has Sickle Cell and my oldest son has Autism. This song is for them,” stated Bilal. Steve McKie (Jill Scott, Estelle, Kindred, Vivian Green) co-produced the album with Bilal, recorded in Philadelphia, Virginia and Los Angeles. The album also features production by Nottz (Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Drake), 88 Keys (Mos Def, Macy Gray, Musiq Soulchild), Shafiq Husayn of Sa-Ra and Tone Whitefield.
A classically trained vocal veteran, Bilal released his debut album 1st Born Second in 2001, which boasted the popular single “Soul Sista.” The follow-up, Love for Sale (2006), was shelved but leaked entirely online yet was well received to fans and music critics and has become an underground classic. In the following years, Bilal has collaborated and performed with some of the industry’s most prominent artists including, Beyonce (Fighting Temptations), Common (Like Water for Chocolate, Electric Circus, Be, Finding Forever), Jay-Z (American Gangster), Erykah Badu (New Amerykah Part One, New Amerykah Part Two), Robert Glasper (All Matter), Boney James (Better With Time), Musiq (Soulstar) and The Roots among others. He also covered Radiohead’s “High & Dry” for the 2006 Radiohead tribute, Exit Music: Songs With Radio Heads. Bilal also appears in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party.
Airtight’s Revenge (Tracklisting):
- Cake & Eat It Too
- Restart
- All Matter
- Flying
- Levels
- Little One
- Move On
- Robots
- The Dollar
- Who Are You
- Think It Over
All songs produced by Bilal Oliver & Steve McKie except:
“Flying” produced by Nottz & Bilal Oliver
“Levels” produced by Shafiq Husayn & Bilal Oliver
“Little One” produced by Conley “Tone” Whitfield
“Think It Over” produced by 88-Keys
Be sure to purchase the highly anticipated record, Airtight’s Revenge on CD, LP and digitally at the following locations:
“What a frequency … What a voice. I love Bilal. I couldn’t imagine a music world without his voice.” – Erykah Badu
“I have a very connected history with Bilal. I heard his demo years ago. I heard all of the magic instantly. He’s a master at interpretation of song.” – Q-Tip
“Bilal is hands down one of the greatest specimens of voice in post-modern hip-hop culture.” –Questlove
“His voice is like a Van Gogh painting … A Salvador Dali … His voice has so many textures to it.” – Janelle Monae
Tour Dates:
9/14: Johnny Brendas (Philadelphia, PA)
9/15: Scullers Club (Boston, MA)
9/18: B.B. King Blues Club (NY, NY)
9/19: Birchmere (Alexandra, VA)
9/20: Tillman’s (NY, NY) *acoustic set
9/21: Revival (Toronto, Canada)
9/23: Ritual (Ottawa, Canada)
9/25: La Sala Rossa (Montreal, Canada)
10/14: Someday Lounge (Portland, OR)
10/16: Nectar Lounge (Seattle, WA)
10/20: Harlos (Sacramento, CA)
10/21: Landmark Ballroom (San Jose, CA)
10/22-23: Yoshis (Oakland, CA)
10/27: Commonwealth Lounge (Fullerton, CA)
10/28: Echo Plex (Los Angeles, CA)
11/20: Universtiy of Akron (Akron, OH)
*More dates to follow
Fusicology Tour Dates & Listening Parties
Bilal performing an acoustic version of “Think It Over”
Bilal performing “Robots” live in Belgium
Bilal peforming “Levels” live in NYC
