The Black Keys Reveals Hip-Hop Plans, Drops New Album

Fresh from releasing No Rain, No Flowers on August 8, The Black Keys hinted at future hip-hop projects. The band wants to branch into new sounds while staying true to their roots.

"I don't think it would necessarily be a Blakroc thing. I don't think we're going to work with Damon (Dash) again, but we do love hip-hop, and could definitely see ourselves doing something with someone at some point," said Dan Auerbach, according to Far Out.

Drummer Patrick Carney backs the idea with his own take. "We've never really talked about it. I mean, we had some extra stuff. I think we could do something with the right hip-hop artist, that would be fun," he told Far Out. Blakroc changed how The Black Keys make music. As Auerbach puts it, "We took what we learned making Blakroc, starting with, instead of guitar and drums, we heavily started with the rhythm section, bass and drums. We took that mentality, went to Muscle Shoals, and started working on Brothers."

In 2009, they mixed rock with rap on Blakroc, bringing in stars like Q-Tip, Mos Def, RZA, and Raekwon. Their 2024 release, Ohio Players, kept the mix going with Lil Noid and Juicy J adding their flair.

Behind-the-scenes issues cut their tour plans short. "We were extremely frustrated after we had a tour cancelled. There was more to it than the tour, it's a big, long story, but making this record helped us work through it," Auerbach shared with NME.

Bad timing puts their European shows right up against Oasis's comeback. They'll miss the other band by just a day everywhere! They'll be in Mexico City the day before Oasis, and The Black Keys will have an event in Nashville the next day. You can find all of The Black Keys' stops on their official website.