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Mar 31, 2020 By Christopher Roberts Nick Hakim

Nick Hakim has announced a new album, WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD, and shared its first single, “QADIR,” via a video for the new song. WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD is due out May 15 via ATO. Watch the Nelson Nance-directed “QADIR” video below, but the video is a shorter near-six-minute version of the song, so also below is the full seven-and-a-half-minute version of the song. Also below is the album’s tracklist and cover art.

WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD is the neo-soul artist’s sophomore album, and is due out almost exactly three years after the release of 2017’s debut album, Green Twins.

“QADIR” is about a friend who died. In a press release Hakim had this to say about the song, its length, and inspiration: “If I really sink into a recording, I don’t want it to end. [‘QADIR’] is repetitive and hypnotizing, like a trance—that’s intentional. The song is my ode to him. It’s my attempt to relate to how he must have been feeling.”

Hakim also issued this statement about the album: “I feel the people simmering, on our way to the boiling point. There’s a lot of madness going on around us and this world can feel so cold. It can get hard to remember what makes it worth it. The people around me and the music I love helps.

“For a while, I couldn’t write. I worked on new music but couldn’t find the right words. But that time was just a build-up to the three months of expression that led to this album. I hope this music will raise awareness about where we are right now. About how we are living on this planet. About how we treat our neighbors. About community. About depression. About what can heal us and what can’t. About overmedication, overstimulation and manipulation. About respecting and loving the people around us, because one day they won’t be here—or you won’t.

“But it’s also true that I’m still trying to figure this record out. People have told me that it’s confusing or that it’s messy-that’s fine. There’s so much pressure on artists to commit to being one thing, or to restrict an album to exploring just one subject or sound. But my life isn’t like that, and so my music can’t be like that either. I’m not thinking about this music as a product to be bought and sold, or how I’ll buy your interest. This is my world; a lot of friends touched this record, and that makes me feel lucky and proud. These songs are glimpses into my community. I’m exploring, but I’m not alone. It’s a journey in progress; it’s an experiment, every day.”

Read our 2017 interview with Nick Hakim.

WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD Tracklist:​

1. ALL THESE CHANGES
2. WTMMG
3. BOUNCING
4. LET IT OUT
5. QADIR
6. ALL THESE INSTRUMENTS
7. DRUM THING
8. VINCENT TYLER
9. CRUMPY
10. GODS DIRTY WORK
11. SEEING DOUBLE
12. WHOO

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