Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea has shared a new solo single that tackles division and political unease. Check out the intense ‘A Plea’ below.
The song is the first preview of an upcoming solo record from the generation-defining bassist. More details about the record are set to be shared in early 2026.
For the project, the musician is going back to his early roots as a trumpet player, and leaning into his longtime love of jazz. In ‘A Plea’, he takes on bass, vocal and trumpet duties, and uses his lyrics to shed light on the political unrest felt across the US.
Fading in with a flashy bassline, the song gradually builds with the help of double bassist Anna Butters, guitarist Jeff Parker, drummer Deantoni Parks and more. It continues to evolve as an instrumental track, before Flea’s punk-flecked vocals are introduced near the four minute mark.
“There’s hate all around/ I don’t care about your fucking politics/ I don’t wanna hear about your politics,” he sings as the instrumentals become more intense, before abruptly dropping into a somber mood. “My blood runs cold/ I’m feeling hate all around/ It’s no solution/ It’s never been a solution/ Come on, are you with me?”
The song ends with a reflective spoken word section, as Flea explains how he hopes people can embrace a more forgiving outlook, rather than becoming increasingly divided.
“Everyone just wants to be loved/ See the god in everyone/ Everyone leaves out no-one/ And everything besides love is cowardice,” he says. “You wanna be brave, you wanna be tough?/ Peace and love is the toughest hardest thing you can do.”
Flea described the song as mirroring the issues he sees in modern society, and showing him “yearning for a place beyond, a place of love, for me to speak my mind and be myself.”
“I’m always just trying to be myself. I don’t care about the act of politics,” he added. “I think there is a much more transcendent place above it where there’s discourse to be had that can actually help humanity, and actually help us all to live harmoniously and productively in a way that’s healthy for the world. There’s a place where we meet, and it’s love.”
The music video is directed by his daughter, photographer and filmmaker Clara Balzary, and contains choreography by Sadie Wilking.
The new solo project builds on Flea’s wide range of material outside of the California funk-rock legends, including brief stints in Nirvana and Jane’s Addiction, and forming the supergroup Atoms For Peace alongside Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, Beck, R.E.M‘s drummer Joey Waronker, and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich.
It also comes following his work with members of The Mars Volta in the rock group Antemasque, and after his short-lived side project Rocket Juice & The Moon, which saw him team up with Damon Albarn and Tony Allen back in 2008.
The new material comes after the bassist joined Stevie Wonder, Beck, Questlove and more in honouring Sly Stone at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2025 ceremony last month.
The Sly And The Family Stone frontman, who was a big source of inspiration for Red Hot Chili Peppers’ earlier material, died in June aged 82 following “a prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues”.
At the start of the year, Flea and his Chili Pepper bandmates performed at the FireAid benefit concert in Los Angeles following the devastating wildfires, and it was also confirmed that the band would be part of the cast in season four of Netflix’s Love, Death + Robots.
The funk-rock icons shared their last new material back in 2022, three years after they welcomed guitarist John Frusciante back into the line-up. They released two albums, ‘Unlimited Love‘ and ‘Return Of The Dream Canteen’.
Speaking to NME at the time about what it was like to be have the classic line-up back together, frontman Anthony Kiedis said that they were determined to bring something new to the table going forward.
“I really didn’t want to tell the same old story that we’ve been hearing for the last 50 years in rock music,” he said. “I liked reaching out in 10,000 directions and seeing what was out there. We weren’t limiting ourselves but trying to tap into something that is honest and emotional.
He continued: “The biggest event, honestly, was John returning to the band. That was the most monumental change in our lives. And God was I down for anything and everything.”