“Otis’ Tambourine” is the third single– preceded by Stomping Gamay and Massamba Afundance— from their upcoming Jahari Massamba Unit album YHWH is LOVE (out now via Law of Rhythm). Driven by a tambourine, “Otis’ Tambourine” sounds like astral jazz playing underwater. It pays homage to Jahari member Madlib’s years of bold musical exploration into uncharted territory.
Listen to Jahari Massamba Unit “Otis’ Tambourine”
So far YHWH is LOVE has been praised by Pitchfork, The FADER, Paste, Hypebeast, Stereogum, and HotNewHipHop, who described the second single “Massamba Afundance” as an “instrumental show-stopper with relentless percussion, gorgeous key embellishments, and an intoxicating live atmosphere.”
Riggins and Madlib were first introduced nearly 20 years ago by their late mutual friend and collaborator J Dilla, going on to collaborate on Madlib’s 2007 album Yesterdays Universe and together as Supreme Team. Jahari Massamba Unit started as a natural extension of Riggins and Madlib’s relationship and mutual appreciation for each other’s artistry. The two producers would send beats back and forth until eventually, Karriem didn’t have anything new to share. Instead he began sending raw drum loops, which were returned back to him with overlaid beds of harmonies and melodies by Madlib. This was the creation of a new body of work from the two cherished collaborators.
YHWH is LOVE will be Jahari Massamba Unit’s second record, and has been highly anticipated since their first album Pardon My French was released in 2020. Pitchfork said Pardon My French “sounds like experimental jazz and feels like a beat tape,” while Rolling Stone called it “a brand-new LP that sounds like it could have been fished out of a dusty dollar bin.”
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