Tunde Adebimpe
Thee Black Boltz
Sub Pop Records [2025]
“Fragmented, intimate, and unflinchingly human—Thee Black Boltz is a solo revelation.”
Album Overview: Tunde Adebimpe first gained recognition as the founding vocalist of TV On The Radio, one of the standout bands from the early 2000s New York rock resurgence. Raised between Nigeria and Pittsburgh, Adebimpe’s creative world has always spanned multiple mediums—visual art, filmmaking, animation, and acting. Thee Black Boltz marks his first official solo album, a deeply personal and independently crafted work made in collaboration with longtime partner Wilder Zoby.
Built during a time of personal loss and widespread uncertainty, Thee Black Boltz feels grounded in reflection and necessity. Rather than a clean break from his past, the album reads more like a solitary continuation—less about reinvention, more about distillation. Drawing from a collection of notebook sketches, voice memos, and emotional cues, Adebimpe shapes a record that embraces instability while seeking clarity in chaos.
Musical Style: The album’s sound palette is a gritty fusion of digital textures, lively percussion, forward vocals, and fragmented loops. Influences of art-pop, spoken word, and post-punk swirl together, but the overall tone still feels freshly raw and unfiltered. There’s is some studio polish here—but also plenty of contrast, tension, and emotion poured directly into sound. The production gives the album an immediate, almost tactile presence.
Evolution of Sound: Where TV On The Radio thrived on layered collaboration, Thee Black Boltz leans into solitude. Adebimpe handles much of the creative load himself, resulting in a record that feels intimate and reactive. The songs unfold like personal sketches, less refined but more direct. It’s a shift from expansive sonic interplay to something smoother and more exposed, often feeling like we’re eavesdropping on his process in real time.
Artists with Similar Fire: Fans of Saul Williams, Tricky, and Gonjasufi will find a kindred spirit in Adebimpe’s experimental approach. There are several echoes of early Beck in the album’s collage-like production and touches of Shabazz Palaces in its outsider groove. Listeners who gravitate toward the introspective side of Yves Tumor may also connect with the album’s shadowy textures and emotional nuance.
Pivotal Tracks: “Ate The Moon” rides a looping industrial beat and breathless delivery, mirroring a fractured state of mind. The hypnotic repetition builds tension that never fully resolves. “ILY” stands out as one of the album’s most emotionally direct moments—a near-whispered ballad that foregrounds Adebimpe’s voice with minimal interference. “Magnetic” pulses with processed vocals and shifting rhythms, capturing the tension between connection and distance. It’s the track that most recalls TVOTR, though it still asserts its own identity. “God Knows” builds on repeated motifs that gradually unravel into something more open and meditative, evoking quiet resilience. Each of these songs acts as a compass point, guiding listeners through Adebimpe’s internal reckoning.
Lyrical Strength: Adebimpe’s lyrics rely on imagery and suggestion rather than straightforward narrative. There’s a poetic shorthand at play—phrases that flicker with meaning without fully revealing themselves. This ambiguity invites listeners to lean in, to interpret, to connect the emotional dots themselves. His writing feels like a series of coded messages, layered and elusive, but always human and searching.
Final Groove: Thee Black Boltz is a striking solo debut that trades grandeur for grit and polish for vulnerability. While it may not offer the sweeping highs of Adebimpe’s past band work, it earns its impact through intimacy and emotional truth. The record lingers like a late-night conversation but with all night energy—honest and sometimes haunted, but always worth hearing out. It’s a compelling start to a new chapter, and a reminder that even in solitude, Adebimpe remains a singular and vital voice.
TV ON THE RADIO REVIEW HISTORY
Seeds (2014)
TUNDE ADEBIMPE LINKS
Instagram | Bandcamp | Sub Pop Records
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