Badbadnotgood: The Jazz Innovators Rewriting the Rulebook

Badbadnotgood is a groundbreaking instrumental quartet from Toronto, Canada, renowned for dissolving the rigid boundaries between jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music. The group's critical and commercial ascent was solidified by their 2016 album IV, which debuted at number one on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and spawned their Grammy-winning collaboration with Ghostface Killah.

Early career

Formed in 2010, the group originated as a trio of Humber College jazz students: Matthew Tavares (keys), Chester Hansen (bass), and Alexander Sowinski (drums). Their unconventional journey began with viral YouTube videos of jazz interpretations of tracks by Odd Future and MF DOOM, challenging the conservatism of their academic environment. This online buzz led to their self-titled debut album in 2011, released on the innovative Brooklyn-based label Innovative Leisure.

Breakthrough

The band's major breakthrough arrived with their third studio album, III, in 2014. Released via Innovative Leisure, the entirely original album was praised for its mature synthesis of their influences and earned a Polaris Music Prize shortlist nomination. This success paved the way for their most ambitious work yet, 2016's IV, which expanded their sound with featured vocalists and won a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Performance for the track "Lavender" featuring Kaytranada.

Key tracks

Lavender — This Kaytranada-produced track featuring Badbadnotgood's instrumentation won a Grammy, marking a pinnacle in their collaborative hip-hop fusion.

Time Moves Slow — Featuring haunting vocals from Sam Herring of Future Islands, this standout from IV showcased their mastery of melancholic, cinematic soul.

Hedron — An early instrumental from BBNG2 that perfectly encapsulates their dynamic, genre-blurring approach to modern jazz composition.

Confessions Pt. II — Featuring Colin Stetson on saxophone, this powerful track from IV highlights their skill in building intense, atmospheric soundscapes.

Speaking Gently — A smooth, hypnotic instrumental from IV that demonstrates their tight rhythmic interplay and melodic sophistication.

Following their Grammy win, Badbadnotgood continued to evolve, releasing the 2021 album Talk Memory on XL Recordings. This project saw them collaborating with artists like Arthur Verocai and Terrace Martin, leaning further into psychedelic and global influences. Their prolific work as collaborators and producers for artists including Kendrick Lamar, Charlotte Day Wilson, and Daniel Caesar has cemented their status as versatile and sought-after studio innovators.

Fans of Badbadnotgood's eclectic and improvisation-rich sound should also explore the work of similar artists featured on our site. Thundercat shares a virtuosic, genre-defying approach that bridges jazz, funk, and hip-hop. Kamasi Washington offers another expansive, epic vision of modern spiritual jazz. Robert Glasper parallels their work in merging acoustic jazz tradition with contemporary R&B and rap. Makaya McCraven utilizes a similar cut-and-paste, producer-minded approach to instrumental composition.

The boundary-pushing music of Badbadnotgood is a staple on forward-thinking radio stations, including modern jazz streams, independent music channels, and eclectic FM stations that champion genre fusion. Their tracks provide the perfect sonic texture for listeners seeking sophisticated instrumental music with a deep rhythmic pulse.

You can discover the innovative catalog of Badbadnotgood by tuning into the curated radio stations available on onairium.com, where their genre-defying jazz continues to inspire a global audience.