Thee Black Boltz - 2025 European Sub Pop Label Òşùpá clear w/ black and white vinyl 11-track LP

For the last 24 years, Tunde Adebimpe has largely been known as the co-founder, co-vocalist and principal songwriter for TV On The Radio. The mostly-black, art-rock band triumphed through two decades of volatile cultural change to become one of the most beloved, enduring and influential groups from New York City’s early-2000s rock scene. Though Tunde’s poetic songwriting and transparent, towering vocals are central to the band’s dissonant sound, TV On The Radio, has and always will be a collaboration between a group of singular musicians.

Tunde’s personal story exists on a parallel path, as a sort of creative polymath. He is a musician but also an illustrator and painter. He’s a former animator and one-time stop-motion filmmaker. He is a television and film actor. And now he is also a solo artist, with his first-ever formal solo album, Thee Black Boltz (Sub Pop, 2025).

Tunde initially conceived of the album in 2019, while TV On The Radio was on a break. Two years later, as the world was emerging out of the global Covid pandemic, he started to put ideas down on paper; specifically, a notebook, which captures a free-thinking mix of words, illustrations and ideas. It is how Tunde begins most of his projects. Included in this notebook was a list of musical references and visual sketches that constituted what he calls, “mixtape of emotions the music could evoke. A feeling map of sorts.” He started capturing those ideas in 2021 with the help of multi-instrumentalist Wilder Zoby (Run The Jewels), with whom he shares a studio with in Los Angeles.

A child of Nigerian immigrants who came to America for a better life, Tunde split his youth between Nigeria and Pittsburgh. His father was a medical professional who loved to doodle and draw, and in doing so, ignited a passion for visual art in his children. “I remember the first time I saw that he could draw, like really draw,” Tunde remembers, “it was like he revealed some superpower. From then on, I was always doodling and he was very encouraging.”

Tunde moved to New York to attend college and found himself amongst a group of friends immersed in indie rock, tape-trading and zine-making. He discovered that creative expression, often visual, was a language he felt most comfortable with; that art allowed him to best communicate his feelings and also to make sense of the world around him. NYU Film School followed (much to his parents’ chagrin), and it was there Tunde developed an interest in the world of stop-motion animation. It ultimately led to a job working on MTV’s cult hit, “Celebrity Deathmatch.”

Film school is also where Tunde was introduced to acting. “I thought I wanted to be a director, but I didn’t feel comfortable giving anyone real instruction,” he laughs. “But I took direction well, and being in front of the camera felt more collaborative, more my speed.” Tunde’s first official role in front of the camera was in a classmate’s film, 2001’s “Jump Tomorrow.” Subsequently, Tunde has appeared in several television and film projects, including critically acclaimed roles in “Rachel Getting Married” (2008), “Spider Man Homecoming” (2017), “Twisters” (2024) and “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” (2024).

Tracklisting.

1.  Thee Black Boltz
2.  Magnetic
3.  Ate The Moon
4.  Pinstack
5.  Drop
6.  ILY
7.  The Most
8.  God Knows
9.  Blue
10. Somebody New
11. Streetlight Nuevo