Saul Williams Takes A ‘Leap’ With 3D, Kamasi

Saul Williams will return with his first solo album in seven years when Leap Life arrives August 28 via Big Dada. Named after his leap-year birthday, the project marks a homecoming of sorts for Williams, who released early solo works “Twice the First Time” and “Elohim (1972)” through the label in the late ’90s.

Leap Life finds Williams leaning into a philosophy that “the voice is the instrument,” blending spoken word, improvisation and rhythmic experimentation across a set shaped by jazz, hip-hop, ambient music and West African traditions. Leading the announcement is “Conspiracy,” a new track featuring Gonjasufi and Moor Mother. The song arrives alongside a video directed by Cleon Arrey, whose previous work includes collaborations with Snoop Dogg, Akeem-Ali and A$AP Rocky.

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Leap Life boasts an eclectic cast of contributors, including producer Carlos Niño, Massive Attack’s Robert “3D” Del Naja, Kamasi Washington, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Surya Botofasina. Williams and Niño, whose friendship stretches back nearly 30 years, collaborated closely on the album’s musical architecture, while Del Naja helped shape tracks including “I Think I Get It Now,” “Controlled Is Not Controllable” and “Not Everything for Sale.”

According to Williams, the album grew out of questions surrounding grief, ancestral memory and collective struggle. He describes the project as being informed by ceremony and shamanism, with music functioning as a vehicle for healing, resistance and remembrance. “What does it mean to trust the moment?” Williams asks. “We’re going to need those spirits. There’s an understanding that the soldiers in our struggle are not only the visible ones. There are people standing and fighting with us that we may not see.”

A multidisciplinary artist whose work cannot be easily categorizaed, Williams has in recent years made his directorial debut with Neptune Frost and expanded his MartyrLoserKing universe through projects including The Motherboard Suite, created with Bill T. Jones.

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