Saul Williams Shares New Track “Burundi” & Preps For Upcoming Brooklyn Bowl Show

Poet-actor-mc-renaissance man Saul Williams has shared a brand new track off of his upcoming Martyr, Loser, Kingdom LP. Based off a synth string dirge, “Burundi” is loaded with a verbal intensity that’s both menacing and ingenious; it’s textbook Saul Williams that comes at a time when we’ve been needing his voice perhaps more than ever. Palpitating kick drums and gnarled bass push the lyricist ever onward, and “Burundi” eventually becomes a maelstrom of claps, chants and revolutionary rhetoric. Not even the sweet tones of Warpaint vocalist/guitarist Emily Kokal can soften Saul’s blows. If this is what all of MLK sounds like, the world is in for a massive head-check when it drops in July.

“In Senegal, I was buying iPhones for $20, Beats for $10, because they get all the influx from China, with no regulation,” Williams revealed in a recent press release. “So everyone’s online. Everyone’s high tech.” That same release also hints that Beyoncé, Fredo Santana and various Haitian field recordings have become important influences over the Martyr, Loser, Kingdom sessions.

Both Okayplayer and Okayafrica will present Williams’s upcoming NYC show, which is slated for May 7th at Brooklyn Bowl and includes support from both Haleek Maul and Sons of an Illustrious Father.

Listen to “Burundi” below and grab your Brooklyn Bowl tickets as quick as you can right here.

Martyr, Loser, Kingdom Tour Dates:

April 23 – Seattle, WA – Chop Suey *​x
April 24 – Portland, OR – Dante’s *​x
April 25 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s *​x
April 27 – Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy *​x
April 28 – Phoenix, AZ – Club Red *​x
April 30 – Dallas, TX – Club Dada *​x
May 1 – Austin, TX – Red 7*​x
May 2 – Houston, TX – Fitzgeralds *​x
May 4 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade *​x
May 5 – Carrboro, NC – The Cats Cradle *​x
May 6 – Falls Church, VA – The State Theatre *​x
May 7 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl *​x
May 9 – Boston, MA – Cuisine En Locale *​x
May 10 – Philadelphia, PA – Ardmore Music Hall*​x

* Featuring special guest Sons of an Illustrious Father
x Featuring special guest Haleek Maul