Five-time Grammy winner Lalah Hathaway returns with 47th Street, a deeply personal soul record rooted in Chicago, family history and the places that continue to hold meaning long after people move on.
Released via Hathaway Entertainment/SRG-ILS/Virgin, the track revisits the Chicago street where Donny Hathaway’s family lived, linking migration, memory and Black musical history.
Grammy-winning poet J. Ivy opens the record by placing that story inside the wider movement of Black families from the American South to Chicago:
They headed north down to lay down their root / The train was filled with hope / From the freight cars to the caboose.
Hathaway then brings the focus closer to home, singing: “Every streetlight hums your name, Every corner burns the same.“
Later, she references both her father and grandfather Hosea:
If only these streets could talk, That’s where my daddy laid his hat down, Sweet Hosea wore the crown.
For Hathaway, the song is less about nostalgia than what a place leaves behind.
That’s where my father’s family lived. My grandfather Hosea—we pronounced it Hozee—together with his mom and dad were always welcoming. In my mind, going back to 47th Street regenerated the pulsating urban vibe of my beloved hometown.
That idea lands most sharply in the closing line:
You can occupy these streets, But you can’t evict what lives in me.
Across a career spanning soul, jazz and R&B, Hathaway has worked with artists including Prince, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams, Anderson .Paak and Robert Glasper, while building an identity that has long existed beyond her father’s legacy.
For FM PRO TECH, 47th Street works as a living archive, preserving family history and cultural memory through music.
Hathaway revisits Chicago on her own terms, proving some archives live beyond files and platforms; in voices, stories and streets.
LIVE DATES
August 13th, 2026 – Philadelphia, PA – Dell Music Center
August 23rd, 2026 – Gardena, CA – Gardena Jazz Festival
September 5th, 2026 – Columbus, OH – CBus Soul Festival
September 12th, 2026 – Chicago, IL – 79th Street Renaissance Festival
September 18th, 2026 – Boston, MA – Berklee School of Music
September 19th, 2026 – Boston, MA – Berklee School of Music
September 20th, 2026 – Pittsburgh, PA – Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival
September 25th, 2026 – Meridian, MS – MSU Riley Center
September 26th, 2026 – Mableton, GA – Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre
October 2nd, 2026 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall
October 3rd, 2026 – Orlando, FL – Judson’s Live
October 4th, 2026 – Orlando, FL – Judson’s Live
October 7th, 2026 – Charlotte, NC – Knight Theatre
October 8th, 2026 – Alexandria, VA – The Birchmere
October 9th, 2026 – Alexandria, VA – The Birchmere
October 24th, 2026 – Napa, CA – Blue Note Summer Sessions
November 7th, 2026 – November 10th, 2026 – 2026 Soul Train Cruise
November 13th, 2026 – Hampton, VA – Annual Jazz Legacy Foundation Festival
November 15th, 2026 – New York, NY – Sony Hall
November 16th, 2026 – Annapolis, MD – Maryland Hall by Rams Head
December 10th, 2026 – Detroit, MI – Motor City Casino