Karriem Riggins and Madlib Announce New Jahari Massamba Unit Album ‘YHWH is LOVE’

Revered producers and multi-instrumentalists Karriem Riggins and Madlib announced a March 1st release date for YHWH is LOVE, their second album together as Jahari Massamba Unit. The full-length will be the official release for Law of Rhythm, a new record label founded by Riggins and music executive Jae Barber. The album announcement comes with the first single, “Stompin Gamay.”

Gamay grapes are often known for their abundance of production, much like the prolific talents of Karriem Riggins and Madlib. As a preview of their forthcoming album, “Stomping Gamay” elevates the listener with its vibrant harmonies, playful rhythm, and bright melodies brimming with unbridled spontaneity and boundless creativity.

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.” Look out for the upcoming album, and in the meantime, check out their catalogue here.

YHWH is LOVE Track Listing:

1. RUBATO LOVE
2. Stomping Gamay
3. Otis’ Tambourine
4. ALL THINGS…
5. Anointed Soul
6. Karriem’s BOLERO
7. JMU’s Voyage
8. Six 8ight (Interlude)
9. The Clappers Cousin
10. Massamba Afundance
11. e11even (Interlude)
12. WITH YHWH LOVE
13. Boppin’
14. Seven Miles to the Oxnard

Jahari Massamba Unit ‘YHWH is LOVE’ album artwork