When Kendrick Lamar released To Pimp A Butterfly in 2015, the album garnered critical praise for its fusion of heady jazz and throwback funk as a backdrop to K. Dot’s dense, thoughtful lyricism. Much of the credit for its sonic pioneering goes to jazz revivalists like Robert Glasper and Terrace Martin, who played multiple instruments on many of the song’s tracks. With the two musicians’ supergroup, R+R=Now, releasing its live album R+R=Now Live next month, they get the chance to revisit their musical triumph with a cover of the album’s song “How Much A Dollar Cost.”
R+R=Now consists of Robert Glasper on keys, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah on trumpet, Terrace Martin on synthesizer, vocoder, and alto saxophone, Derrick Hodge on bass, Taylor McFerrin on synthesizer, and Justin Tyson on drums. They released an album, Collagically Speaking, through the legendary Blue Note Records in 2018, working with names like Amanda Seales, Omari Hardwick, and Stalley. Since then, Glasper formed a new supergroup with Martin called Dinner Party, this time featuring two more Kendrick Lamar collaborators, Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder, and has been nominated for a Grammy. In 2020, Glasper and Uproxx threw the inaugural Grammy Jam, with plans to revive the freewheeling jam session this year.
Listen to R+R=Now’s live cover of “How Much A Dollar Cost” above.
R+R=Now Live is due 2/12 via Blue Note Records. Order it here.