Last month, McKinley Dixon announced a new album, Magic, Alive!, the follow-up to his well-received 2023 project Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?. He also shared “Sugar Water” featuring Quelle Chris and Anjimile, and today (March 26), he’s back with another album preview that also includes a pair of features: “Could’ve Been Different,” which has contributions from Blu and Shamir.

Dixon says of the song:

“‘Could’ve Been Different’ is another attempt to follow, what I view as ‘the perfect closing credits:’ A summary of the story before, a different outlook on where you’re at now, and a rough question of ‘what’s going to happen to us in the future?’ To me, those make for the perfect ending when writing tales. Well, those things and mimicking the music how you would live your life: going out with an ending they will never forget.”

He previously said of working on the album in his native Richmond, Virginia, “It’s like a celebration when I make a record back in Richmond. Everybody has grown, but now here we are together again.”

Beyond from Blu and Shamir, the album features appearances from Quelle Chris, Anjimile, Pink Siifu, Teller Bank$, and others.

Listen to “Could’ve Been Different” above.

Magic, Alive! is out 6/6 via City Slang. Find more information here.