When discussing pioneers in the music industry, it’s very easy to immediately think of Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, The Beatles, and Louis Armstrong; however there are music pioneers who – for a combination of being too off-beat for mass consumption, being ahead of their time, or sometimes just bad luck – will grow to be some of the most influential musicians of their time without being a household name.
With that, I introduce you to BadBadNotGood – a Toronto, Ontario based jazz ensemble. It’s incredibly difficult to pinpoint their exact style as they make unique and expansive music that sits on the fence between ‘70s soul jazz, alternative hip hop, and experimental electronica. They also make frequent collaborations – which tend to be the most well known tracks – with the diverse likes of Samuel T Herring, Wu Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah, Charlotte Wilson and many more.
Founded in 2010 by Alexander Sowinski, Chester Hansen, and Matthew Tavares, BadBadNotGood came together when the members met through the Humber College jazz program in Toronto. Bonding over their shared love for jazz and hip hop, the trio produced and uploaded a song as a jazz tribute to Odd Future. They might not have thought much of it at the time, just a piece of music composed for fun, but this was just the beginning of the many milestones and successes they have come to accomplish, which has led them to be the unparalleled band they are today.
In 2011, BadBadNotGood released their debut album BBNG which included covers of music by Odd Future, A Tribe Called Quest, and Waka Flocka Flame, and was recorded in just one three-hour session. The album was highly praised by critic Anthony Fantano, who complimented their fusion of hip hop, electronic, and traditional jazz, and said that the group “show a lot of great musicianship… and they just play off each other so well.” BBNG was quickly followed by two live albums BBNGLIVE 1 and BBNGLIVE 2, released in November 2011 and February 2012.
In February 2015, after a lot of exposure from well known tastemakers, DJs and fellow musicians, Sour Soul was released – an album in collaboration with Wu Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah. This album produced many tracks that are rated as some of BadBadNotGood’s best, such as Nuggets of Wisdom, Ray Gun, and Six Degrees. BadBadNotGood and Ghostface Killah sought inspiration from the music of the 60s and 70s, which included the recording techniques and production of that era, and avoiding sampling in favour of live instrumentation. An instrumental version of the Sour Soul album was shortly released only three months later in May 2015.
In 2016, BadBadNotGood released what would end up being their most popular album to date – IV. This is also the first album to feature longtime touring partner and collaborator Leland Whitty as a formal member of the band. Featuring collaborations from Samuel T. Herring, Colin Stetson, Kaytranada, Mick Jenkins, and Charlotte Day Wilson, the album received high praise from many music critics and magazines. Three years later, in 2019, Matthew Tavares left BadBadNotGood.
Without Matt the band continued to release music, one of their most recent being the single “Running Away” (released in June 2021). This track is in collaboration with Samuel T. Herring and VANO 3000 and is actually a remix of “Time Moves Slow” – the third track on IV. Thanks to the viral Adult Swim [as] trend on TikTok, this remix became popular even before it was officially released. This boosted not only the remix, but also the original version, making it the second most popular track on their spotify, just below “Running Away”.
Furthermore, working its way up BadBadNotGood’s top tracks, is their most recent release; a single titled “Signal From the Noise” (released in July 2021). This is an entirely instrumental piece that has clear influences of experimental electronica, traditional jazz, and the psychedelic ‘70s. “Signal From the Noise” is the lead single that will be a part of BadBadNotGood’s upcoming album Talk Memory. The album is said to bring out the evolution of their live and improvised studio performances in order to “bring the listener closer to the live experience”. It can only be expected that this album will be an unprecedented and exceptional work of art.
Not only does BadBadNotGood create diverse and aberrant music for any music lover out there, they also try their hardest to build a personal connection between the listener and the music. Everything this band does and is, makes them deserving of the pioneering title, and we can only expect greater evolving things and more from them in the future.
If you don’t already, keep up with the band on Instagram, Spotify, and Apple Music.
