Black Thought & El Michels Affair Debut New Single 'That Girl'

GRAMMY® Award-winning legendary MC and The Roots Co-Founder Black Thought and acclaimed cinematic soul luminary El Michels Affair share a new single entitled "That Girl" via Big Crown Records. It heralds the arrival of their highly anticipated collaborative LP Glorious Game out April 14 on Big Crown Records. Pre-order and pre-save Glorious Game HERE.

On the track, the beat creaks beneath Black Thought's artfully airtight lyricism. He gets introspective with confessions such as "I'd probably do anything for that girl," while the production melts into a swooning old-school soul sample. It highlights the dynamic between his verbal firepower and El Michels Affair's entrancing production.

They initially paved the way for Glorious Game with "Grateful." Beyond tallying half-a-million streams and counting, it received widespread critical praise. Beyond plugs from Pitchfork, HYPEBEAST, Brooklyn Vegan, and more, Rolling Stone applauded it as "a succinct preview of the former's hip-hop storytelling wrapping itself around the latter's scene-setting, cinematic production," and NME noted, "they trade off verses over a backing of thudding percussion and a whistling flute." Meanwhile, The FADER described Black Thought as "clearly keen to continue this run of excellence."

As the story goes, Black Thought and El Michels Affair founder Leon Michels initially crossed paths in the early 2000s, exhibiting mutual admiration for one another's craft. This respect manifested on stage as they performed together at a handful of charity concerts in New York and Philadelphia.

Black Thought began to occasionally pull up to the group's studio to collaborate. During the global pandemic, he reached out to Michels for material, building the foundation for Glorious Game. Now, this 12-track hip-hop soul opus layers the rapper's elite rhyme-play and intense storytelling above cinematic soundscapes brought to life by the band.

It continues an incredibly prolific season for Black Thought. In 2022, he linked up with Danger Mouse for the unanimously acclaimed, Cheat Codes. Beyond tallying tens of millions of streams, it incited the applause of Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Clash, NME, and Pitchfork who professed, "the album feels both modern and vintage-a swirl of distant touchstones happening all at once."

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama touted "Belize" [feat. MF Doom] among his favorite songs of the year. Simultaneously, El Michels Affair has consistently captivated audiences and inspired tastemaker applause, serving up Yeti Season (Deluxe) in 2022 and producing for others at a prolific pace including Lady Wray's Piece Of Me album and tracks for Mary J Blige and Norah Jones.

Listen to the new single here:

Photo Credit: Sesse Lind