The dry spell is over for Erykah Badu fans: The Dallas-based artist, who hasn’t released a CD since 2003’s Worldwide Underground, announced on her MySpace page this week that she will finally release a new album on February 26. No indication yet about whether it will retain the title of her previously announced but postponed disc, The Kabah.

The first single, “Honey,” will be released Tuesday but it’s already leaked onto the Web and sounds as smooth and inviting as its title: Produced by hip-hop titan 9th Wonder, the mid-tempo number surrounds Badu’s seductive singing with pulsing beats, darting synthesizers and angelic background vocals that come across both modern and old-fashioned. If the groove grows repetitive halfway through, Badu at least gooses the flow with sometimes subtle, sometimes sassy phrasing that will remind you of the first time you heard “On and On” without sounding like “On and On.”