CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS ALBUM

Soul singer Bilal hasn’t released an album since 2001’s 1st Born Second, but it seems as though he’s putting the finishing touches on an “electro-jazz rock” album to be released in 2010.

“I’m just excited to put out a new record without having to conform to major label standards,” says Bilal.

“Before there was always this pressure of, ‘What’s going to be the first single — what are people going to get?’ I never really saw making music like that.”

Bilal went back into the studio back in 2008, a while after his label dropped him in 2003 and shelved his unreleased sophomore album, Love for Sale. The album eventually leaked, which kept his live show presence heavy — Bilal did a lot of shows over the past few years, including making surprise appearances at some of Maxwell’s shows.

Nine of the 12 songs planned for the album are finished, and all are produced by Bilal, with some help from producer Nottz, and Sa-Ra member Shafiq Husayn, who worked on Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War.