New Reach Back Retain album dropping in September: Ancestral Intelligence Over Artificial Intelligence

Reach Back Retain—consisting of Jordon Chatmon and Fiyah Abakah—is gearing up to drop their highly anticipated project, Ancestral Intelligence Over Artificial Intelligence, arriving mid-September!

We recently sat down with King Jordon to talk about the inspiration behind the project and their deep-rooted partnership with Kingmakers of Oakland. As an extension of the Kingmakers family, Reach Back Retain mirrors the organization's core mission of empowering young Black kings through cultural identity, leadership, and authentic self-expression. Jordon spoke about how the group grounds its work in the spirit of Sankofa: reaching back to retain knowledge, wisdom, and history to power the community forward.

In an era where artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping our daily lives, economy, and culture, Jordon emphasizes that their new music serves as a vital, grounding counter-narrative. The album makes a bold statement about prioritizing human connection, heritage, and ancestral wisdom over technological noise.

"With this theme being in mind, I just had a lot to say from my own perspective, but also speaking to the youth," Jordon shared. "Ancestral intelligence over artificial intelligence... I feel like all the tracks, we really did a good job aligning this to the purpose of the project."

What makes the album stand out is its intentional narrative structure, weaving seamlessly through a timeline of past, present, and future:

• Past: Tracks like Pass the Baton pay homage to historical figures and trailblazers such as Tommie Smith and John Carlos.

• Present: Anthems like Teach focus directly on the work being done inside schools and communities right now.

• Future: Songs like What Are You Made Of push the vision forward, inspiring the next generation to step into their royalty.

Jordon highlighted the powerful collaboration behind the scenes, working alongside Kingmakers brothers to refine every hook, chorus, and message. "I did like the depth that we went into to get the tracks done," he noted. "Collaborating, all the brothers getting together... being very intentional in creating each song."

With final mixing wrapping up this week, the countdown is officially on. Mark your calendars for mid-September; this is one drop you will not want to miss!