BADBADNOTGOOD, the jazz/hip-hop quartet from Toronto, unveiled the first track off of their upcoming album, IV, Tuesday on Zane Lowe’s radio show on Beats 1. The smooth track, “Time Moves Slow,” is fronted by Future Islands’ singer Sam Herring on vocals and hints at a possible drift away from the hip-hop inspired grooves that made the band popular. The tune has more of an R&B vibe to it; not a huge departure from their past material, but if anything, more polished and refined.
IV is the band’s first release since 2015’s collaboration with Ghostface Killah, Sour Soul. They released III in 2014.
The band was one of 2015’s greatest musical mysteries. A trio at the time, they were three former jazz heads who had met while studying at Humber College Institute of Technology and Advance Learning, but had been lured away from jazz by the likes of Dr. Dre and Gang Starr, among others. They gained the attention of Tyler, the Creator via their YouTube videos and were soon playing at Coachella and working with RZA on the Man With the Iron Fists soundtrack. Since the release of Sour Soul, the future of BADBADNOTGOOD has been intriguing, albeit perplexing. Would they continue down the road of hip-hop backing band, return to the friendly confines of jazz, or venture down some other path — one that somehow combined the two styles even more so than they had already done?
Well, now you can hear for yourself.
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BADBADNOTGOOD’s album IV comes out July 8 on Innovative Leisure. In addition to Herring, who they’ve played with in the past, the album features guest spots by Kaytranada, Mick Jenkins, Charlotte Day Wilson, and Colin Stetson.
(Via Pitchfork)
