Shabaka Shares ‘I’ll Do Whatever You Want’ Single Featuring André 3000, Laraaji, Esperanza Spalding & More

Multi-instrumentalist Shabaka (Sons of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming) shared a new single, “I’ll Do Whatever You Want,” with contributions from Laraaji, Floating Points, André 3000, Esperanza Spalding and more. The track is set to land on Shabaka’s upcoming album, Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace, due out on April 12 via Impulse! Records.

While renowned for his saxophone work with UK bands Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming, Shabaka recently put down the saxophone to explore softer woodwinds including Mayan Teotihuacan drone flutes, Brazilian Pifanos, Native American flutes and South American Quenas. The British-born, Barbados-raised musician commented on how the instrumental shift has broadened the breadth of his musical journey.

“It has slowly changed the scope of my musical inner landscape and drawn me towards a multitude of other instruments in the flute family,” he said. “I’ve started to appreciate the underlying principles that cause these instruments to resonate most fully and use this understanding to form a concept allowing me to freely move between instruments.”

The highly-collaborative Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace also features Moses Sumney, Brandee Younger, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Saul Williams, Elucid and more.

“I invited a bunch of musicians I’ve met and admired over the past few years of touring throughout the United States to collaborate and everyone said yes, which I constantly find breathtaking,” Shabaka said of assembling his ensemble for the record.

Shabaka also described what the recording process was like at the historic New Jersey studio founded by legendary late jazz engineer Rudy Van Gelder where some of the genre’s greatest musicians recorded including Duke Ellington, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock and many more. John Coltrane captured his landmark 1965 album, A Love Supreme, at Van Gelder Studio.

The recording facility “informed the sound of so many seminal jazz albums that have shaped my musical aptitude,” Shabaka said. “We played with no headphones or separation in the room so we could capture the atmosphere of simply playing together in the space without a technological intermediary.”

Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace is previewed by “I’ll Do Whatever You Want,” boasting guest spots from Laraaji (vocals), André 3000 (Teotihuacan drone flute), Floating Points (Rhodes Chroma synthesizer, vibraphone), Esperanza Spalding (bass), Tom Herbert (bass), Dave Okumu (guitar), Marcus Gilmore (drums) and Carlos Niño (percussion).

“‘I’ll Do Whatever You Want’ is about surrender and the intimate space we go to within the grasp of possession,’ Shabaka said of the new track, on which he plays the Shakuhachi — an ancient Japanese end-blown flute made of bamboo.

Watch a very cool visualizer for “I’ll Do Whatever You Want” featuring Shabaka’s own artwork below:

Shabaka has concerts in the U.S. and Europe on his 2024 itinerary. Find out where to catch the multi-instrumentalist below: