In the Studio: Tunde Adebimpe

      As the lead vocalist of TV On The Radio, Tunde Adebimpe was at the helm of New York's indie scene in the early 2000s. However, with his solo debut, he's looking to fulfill a different kind of desire.

      Tunde Adebimpe has faith in the transformative power of music, believing that at its finest, a song can serve as a charm—a “spell to manifest things in your life or to lift a curse.” Over the past decade, he hasn't produced many of these spells. While he's primarily recognized as the frontman of the early 2000s indie innovators TV On The Radio, the band’s last album was 2014’s ‘Seeds.’ In the intervening years, Adebimpe has focused more on acting, appearing in Hollywood blockbusters such as Spider-Man: Homecoming and this year's Twisters. But after starting work on what he thought could be his debut solo album in 2019, life presented him with several challenges that required a bit more magic to navigate. “During that period, I experienced significant family losses. My sister, who was my closest friend, passed away while I was writing this record. So, creating the album became like constructing an island where I could find some control amidst the chaos,” he shares from his home studio in Los Angeles. “It was like creating a shrine to her and others I've lost, simply to express my love and gratitude.”

      Collaborating with longtime friend Wilder Zoby, who frequently works with Run The Jewels, Adebimpe describes the songwriting process as both open and playful, despite the underlying sadness. “It felt like being in a new city where I could do whatever I wanted because there were no established paths to follow,” he reflects. The first public indication of this journey came in October with the empowering track ‘Magnetic,’ a song that could easily align with TVOTR’s most impactful work. Written amidst his grief, the song took on a new layer of meaning with its release shortly after the results of the US elections.

      “‘Magnetic’ symbolizes the idea of bringing elements together to gain a clearer, multidimensional perspective; it emphasizes that you have the ability to effect change. If you can map out the chaos in your mind, you’ll know which areas require attention and which you can discard,” Adebimpe explains. “One of the song's opening lines states, ‘In the age of tenderness and rage,’ inspired by a photo of a young woman at a protest holding a sign that read, ‘This is the age of rage and tenderness.’ That resonated with me because it perfectly encapsulates what we're experiencing.”

      “The process was liberating,” he adds, “to return to the basics and realize: nobody cares about this but me.”

      His upcoming album, titled ‘Thee Black Boltz,’ is scheduled for release this spring through the iconic indie label Sub Pop, a partnership that makes a lot of sense, though Adebimpe humorously notes it took some time to come to fruition. “I had a number of demos ready in 2019 and tried to find someone willing to release them, but no one was interested,” he chuckles. “It was a significant moment of realization—thinking all that cultural capital I believed I had built in the early 2000s might just be... gone! In many ways, it felt like starting over, but that was refreshing because it allowed me to think: nobody cares about this but me.”

      Now that the album is polished and complete, it’s clear that both old and new fans will indeed care about Adebimpe’s solo endeavor. Alongside his solo work, TV On The Radio is also hitting the road again after a five-year hiatus. “For now,” he remarks, he is concentrating on music. “I hope this record brings inspiration and comfort to people,” he says with a smile. “And if it doesn’t, well, you can always turn it off!”

      ‘Thee Black Boltz’ will be released on April 18th via Sub Pop Records.