R&B singer Dawn Richard sets her new album Creole Culture for October 9

New Orleans R&B artist Dawn Richard has announced her first solo album in five years, Creole Culture, due October 9 on Merge, Pitchfork reported on August 5. She shared a new single, enough, alongside the announcement, following the earlier single baby, can we? featuring Durand Bernarr.

Creole Culture completes a trilogy that began with Richard's 2019 album New Breed and continued with 2021's Second Line: An Electro Revival, in which the New Orleans artist portrays herself as King Creole rebuilding her hometown in her own image. "New Breed was the story of New Orleans through my father's eyes," Richard said, adding that Second Line carried her mother's side of the story but still felt unfinished until now.

The 11-track album features guest appearances from Big Freedia, Anjelika Jelly Joseph and Tarriona Tank Ball, and was co-executive produced by Katalyst, the Inglewood-based collective founded by drummer Greg Paul, whose members have worked with Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar and Solange. Richard described enough as being about unlearning the idea that a person's value has to be earned.

The album also draws from Richard's heritage as a Black and Native American woman, opening with A Creole Culture Intro featuring Big Freedia and closing with Faith in the Fire. "Collaborating with Katalyst on the album has been a natural extension of my artistic journey," Richard said. "Together, we're creating music that honors multiple genres while aiming to push the culture forward."

Since 2021, Richard has also released two collaborative albums with composer Spencer Zahn, 2022's Pigments and 2024's Quiet in a World Full of Noise, and teamed with saxophonist Joseph Shabason last year for the Sade tribute Broken Hearted Sade. Creole Culture arrives October 9 via Merge Records, and you can follow it on the release calendar.