Humanité is unlike any album Kirk Whalum has ever made – the synergistic result of encounters made, and relationships formed onstage and off with some of the finest recording artists from all over the world. Over a period of three months in 2018, Kirk and his longtime friend and producer, James McMillan, recorded the album in locations spanning the globe. According to Kirk, language and cultural barriers faded away once the playing and improvisation began. As he sees it, music serves the same purpose all over the world – a universal form of communication to share emotion, tell stories, and “enable liberation and freedom of expression.”