Iconic Grammy Award-winning MC and co-founder of The Roots, Black Thought has joined forces with American cinematic soul ensemble led by New York-based musician Leon Michels, El Michels Affair, for a collaborative album titled Glorious Game, set to drop on April 14 via Big Crown Records. In celebration of the joint effort, the two have released the project’s lead. single “Grateful.”

“Grateful” is a low-end, thick-sounding track that samples Shabba Ranks’ “Ting-A-Ling.” Black Thought lays down mindful lyrics contemplating humanity’s approach to love and those lost: “I guess the moral of the story is/ Any sip you pour me is/ A toast to the warriors who bit the dust before me, kid.”

The sonic union of Black Thought and El Michaels Affair on Glorious Game comes after nearly two decades of mutual respect – Michels and Black Thought met in the early 2000s. They performed together at a handful of charity concerts in New York and Philadelphia over the years, and Black thought occasionally would visit El Michels Affair’s studio.

However, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that he finally reached out to Michels for material, inadvertently building the foundation of the 12-track hip-hop/soul album lush with cinematic soundscapes and thought-provoking lyrics, upholstered by the band and Black Thought, respectively.

Check out the full tracklisting below.

Listen to “Grateful” below.

TRACKLISTING

1. Grateful

2. Glorious Game feat. Kirby

3. I’m Still Somehow

4. Hollow Way

5. Protocol feat. Son Little

6. The Weather
7. That Girl

8. I Would Never

9. Alone

10. Miracle

11. Glorious Game (Reprise)

12. Alter Ego feat. Brainstory