Four of music’s most prominent, groundbreaking producers have teamed up to form a supergroup. 9th Wonder, Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, and Terrace Martin are veterans of the hip-hop, soul, and jazz worlds, participating in some of the most important projects and collaborating with some of the biggest names in music. Now, they have come together as Dinner Party and released their first single, the powerful and profound “Freeze Tag” with Chicago singer and producer Phoelix.
The group formed during a tour on which Martin and Glasper both participated. Martin and Washington have been friends in the LA jazz scene since high school, and 9th Wonder, despite not being a traditional musician, is connected to all three through various endeavors and mutual collaborators like Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Rapsody, and others. They’ve all collaborated in some capacity in the past, but in 2019, linked up as a group to record an entire album as Dinner Party.
Phoelix is also a producer of some reknown, helping shape the new Chicago sound of rappers like Noname and Saba, and is an accomplished vocalist as well. He contributes impactful lyrics to “Freeze Tag,” speaking to the mood of the current moment in America. “They told me put my hands up behind my head,” he croons. “I think you got the wrong one.”
Watch Dinner Party’s debut video, “Freeze Tag” featuring Phoelix, above. The seven-song Dinner Party album is due 7/10 via Sounds Of Crenshaw/Empire. You can pre-order it here.