Williams, Saul – Leap Life [2xLP] - New LP

2LP, 12” gatefold with 24” foldout newsprint poster.

Saul Williams’ first solo album in over 10 years marks a major return for one of the most influential voices in spoken word and experimental music. Named after Saul’s leap year birthday, the project has been carefully sequenced by composer and producer Carlos Niño as a fully immersive, front-to-back listening experience. The album expands Saul’s sound into electronic and ambient territories while remaining rooted in spoken word, with rich sound design built from nature recordings, environmental textures, and expansive instrumentation. It also sees Saul step further into the role of producer, drawing influence from Fela Kuti, Black church traditions, and South African electronic music. The record features a standout cast of collaborators including Kamasi Washington, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Moor Mother, Gonjasufi, and Surya Botofasina, alongside material developed with Robert Del Naja (Massive Attack). With his new record, 'Leap Life,' Williams expands the definition of what music itself can be, operating on the philosophy that "the voice is the instrument." Throughout the album, Williams speaks, chants, improvises and testifies over fluid arrangements that blur the lines between spoken word, jazz abstraction, hip-hop cadence, West African rhythmic logic, ambient composition and ceremonial sound design. Moving beyond traditional rhyme structures, the project embraces spontaneity, treating language as a rhythmic, vibrating force while capturing the essence of a jazz improviser chasing revelation in real-time, reflecting a lifetime of artistic preparation. It’s a risky process — surrendering control inside a medium built on permanence — but Williams sees revelation in that uncertainty. “What does it mean to trust the moment?” he asks.