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Saul Williams
Leap Life
Big Dada - Cat No: BD323
- updated:2026-09-03
Saul Williams — the maverick writer, musician, poet, film director and actor who for nearly three decades has carved out a singular, one-of-a-kind position without being confined by the boundaries of music, literature or film — returns with "Leap Life," his first solo album in seven years, out now on Big Dada!!! A major work in which hip-hop, African polyrhythms, ambient and jazz coalesce into Afro-futurism within a spiritually conceived sonic architecture!!
Track List
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1. Baobab Constellation
06:19 -
2. Mazahua
05:11 -
3. I Think I Get It Now
04:49 -
4. Great, Great-Grandmother
03:44 -
5. The Dagger
02:59 -
6. Controlled Is Not Controllable
03:40 -
7. 13 Moons
03:56 -
8. Une Photographie
06:58 -
9. Not Everything For Sale
02:56 -
10. Robot Slave
03:36 -
11. Conspiracy
03:45 -
12. Vengeful Spirit
02:29 -
13. Friends I Ain't Met Yet
01:57 -
14. Coming Forth
08:56 -
15. Leap Life
With his upcoming record, 'Leap Life,' Williams expands the definition of what music itself can be, operating on the philosophy that "the voice is the instrument." Throughout the album, Williams speaks, chants, improvises and testifies over fluid arrangements that blur the lines between spoken word, jazz abstraction, hip-hop cadence, West African rhythmic logic, ambient composition and ceremonial sound design. Moving beyond traditional rhyme structures, the project embraces spontaneity, treating language as a rhythmic, vibrating force while capturing the essence of a jazz improviser chasing revelation in real-time, reflecting a lifetime of artistic preparation.
It’s a risky process — surrendering control inside a medium built on permanence — but Williams sees revelation in that uncertainty. “What does it mean to trust the moment?” he asks.
It’s a risky process — surrendering control inside a medium built on permanence — but Williams sees revelation in that uncertainty. “What does it mean to trust the moment?” he asks.
Guided by the philosophy that "the voice itself is an instrument," the album fuses spoken word, jazz abstraction, hip-hop's rhythmic sensibility, West African-rooted polyrhythms, ambient, experimental music, dub, beatdown and ritualistic sound design. With improvisation at its core, language itself is treated as vibrating rhythm as the record explores expression pushing into new territory.
In an age of confusion and division, "Leap Life" redefines music as a vehicle for emotion, memory and transformation — ritual music, sacred music, something akin to prayer, built through dialogue with the unseen. It is Afro-futurist spiritual science for a new era, from SUN RA to LAST PORTS, from P-FUNK to G-FUNK: a quietly soul-infused work has been born. 16 tracks in all.
A stellar cast comes together here: 3D, aka Robert Del Naja (Massive Attack), Kamasi Washington,
Carlos Nino, Gonjasufi, Moor Mother, Georgia Anne Muldrow and more all take part in its making! (Original Japanese text by COMPUMA)