BY JAKE PAINE • NOVEMBER 26, 2018

This morning (November 26), Black Thought released his second album of 2018. That project, Streams Of Thought, Vol. 2: Traxploitation, is entirely produced by Salaam Remi. The Queens, New Yorker and past “Producer Of The Year” Grammy nominee is known for his acclaimed work with Amy Winehouse, Nas, The Fugees, and Miguel. Over two sessions, the two veterans made something that stands apart from Black Thought’s discography of the last 25 years.

In a making-of-the-album video premiered at Ambrosia For Heads, both men describe the process behind creating S.O.T.2. The union began out of a 2016 “writers retreat” organized by The Roots. At Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios enclave, the same place that the Soulquarians called home 20 years ago, Black Thought, Questlove, and the team invited respected peers to jam out and create things with The Roots for an entire week. Salaam Remi was one of the producers, songwriters, and vocalists that joined the New York City gathering. “Salaam contributed a lot,” says Thought. “There’s some [things] that he contributed at that time that just had a different feel. From that, I got the itch to work on a different project with Salaam.” Last year it was revealed that Remi and Black Thought’s previous album partner, 9th Wonder, were attached to The Roots’ upcoming album.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say [on this album]. But I wanted it to be visual. I wanted it to be thought-provoking. I wanted it to be distinctively mature,” admits Black Thought. “The difference in working with Salaam in the studio is the approach. [His approach] is to build the track, the vision, the experience, around the vocalist.”

READ MORE AT AMBROSIA FOR HEADS