BADBADNOTGOOD Bio: Members, Net Worth, Age, Albums, Songs, Origin, Discography

BADBADNOTGOOD is a highly acclaimed Canadian instrumental music group formed in 2010. Known for their unique blend of post-bop jazz, instrumental hip-hop, and alternative sounds, the Toronto-based outfit captured the music industry’s attention by reimagining hip-hop tracks through live jazz instrumentation.

They have since evolved into premier collaborators, working with legendary artists across hip-hop, R&B, and electronic music.

Quick Facts

• Members Name: Alexander Sowinski, Chester Hansen, Leland Whitty
• Stage Name: BADBADNOTGOOD
• Active From: 2010
• Origin: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Active Until: Present
• Nationality: Canadian
• Occupation: Musicians, Songwriters, and Record Producers
• Net Worth: $5 million

Early Life and Members

BADBADNOTGOOD began as a trio of jazz performance students who met at Toronto’s Humber College. United by a shared love for modern hip-hop production—particularly the raw, alternative soundscapes of Odd Future—they pushed the boundaries of traditional jazz education.

Alexander Sowinski

• Date of Birth: October 11, 1991
• Age: 34 years old
• Place of Birth: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
• Ethnicity: White Canadian
• Religion: Not publicly detailed
• Parents: Not publicly detailed
• Siblings: Not publicly detailed
• Education: Attended Lorne Park Secondary School and Humberside Collegiate Institute before studying jazz performance at Humber College in Toronto.
• Early Life: Raised in Mississauga, Sowinski developed an early passion for percussion and rhythmic composition. While attending high school, he became friends and collaborated with future alternative music star Charlotte Day Wilson. He met Hansen and Tavares during their first year at Humber College, where they bonded over artists like OFWGKTA, Gucci Mane, and Waka Flocka Flame.

Chester Hansen

• Date of Birth: May 1, 1992
• Age: 34 years old
• Place of Birth: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
• Ethnicity: White Canadian
• Religion: Not publicly detailed
• Parents: Not publicly detailed
• Siblings: Not publicly detailed
• Education: Attended Canterbury High School (a dedicated arts magnet school in Ottawa) and pursued a degree in jazz performance at Humber College.
• Early Life: Raised in the Nepean area of Ottawa, Hansen began his musical journey on the piano before pivoting heavily to the bass guitar and upright bass during high school. Moving to Toronto for college, he co-founded BBNG after discovering a mutual appreciation for underground hip-hop beats with Sowinski and Tavares.

Leland Whitty

• Date of Birth: May 20, 1993
• Age: 33 years old
• Place of Birth: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Ethnicity: White Canadian
• Religion: Not publicly detailed
• Parents: Brian Whitty, a bassist and singer-songwriter, and his mother is a classical pianist.
• Siblings: One brother, a drummer who played on Leland’s 2022 solo album Anyhow.
• Education: Formally studied music performance alongside future bandmates in Toronto.
• Early Life: Born and raised in a multi-generational household of musicians in Toronto, Whitty was introduced to instruments at a very young age. He spent years acting as a vital touring collaborator and session player for BADBADNOTGOOD—contributing heavily to the albums BBNG2 and III—before officially joining the group as a full-time member on January 1, 2016.

Former Member

Matthew Tavares

• Date of Birth: September 15, 1990
• Age: 35 years old
• Place of Birth: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
• Ethnicity: Mixed Portuguese, Slovakian, and Czech/Yugoslavian descent
• Religion: Not publicly detailed
• Parents: Born to a Portuguese-Canadian father and a Slovakian-Canadian mother.
• Siblings: Not publicly detailed
• Education: Attended Mentor College in Mississauga before enrolling in the jazz performance program at Humber College.
• Early Life: Raised in Mississauga, Tavares grew up using the internet to explore diverse musical styles from ambient rock to jazz fusion. As a co-founding member of BBNG, he was heavily responsible for arranged keys and synthesizers. He parted ways with the group in 2019 after a nine-year run, later revealing publicly that the split was not amicable due to a negative creative environment.

Formation & Career

BADBADNOTGOOD officially formed in 2010 at Humber College. During a program evaluation, the trio of Sowinski, Hansen, and Tavares played a jazz-fusion interpretation of track layouts by the hip-hop collective Odd Future. While their college instructors did not find value in the performance, the band recorded it anyway.

In 2011, they released The Odd Future Sessions online. The instrumental tribute caught the eye of Tyler, the Creator, who heavily praised and shared the videos. This viral breakthrough led to live recording sessions with Tyler himself, catapulting the young group to instant global acclaim.

As the band moved into their III and IV eras, they opened their sound to guest vocalists and prominent studio collaborators, turning them into a festival-headlining act. After Tavares’ departure in 2019, the group restructured back into a core three-piece unit, maintaining their signature post-bop instrumental identity.

Career

BADBADNOTGOOD, formed in 2010 during their time at Toronto’s Humber College, is a Canadian instrumental music group made up of Alexander Sowinski, Chester Hansen, and Leland Whitty, with Matthew Tavares serving as a founding member until 2019.

Spanning from 2011 to the present, they became one of the most successful instrumental crossover acts of their generation, selling out worldwide tours, earning numerous awards (including Grammy wins), and cultivating a passionate global fanbase across the jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music communities.

The group was assembled in 2010 after connecting over a shared appreciation for hip-hop production rather than traditional jazz standards. They uploaded The Odd Future Sessions online in 2011, which caught the attention of rapper Tyler, The Creator. He brought them global exposure by praising the project and inviting them to jam live, leading to major record deals, iconic collaborative albums like Sour Soul with Ghostface Killah, and production credits for some of the biggest artists in modern music.

Social Media

• Instagram Handle: @badbadnotgood
• TikTok Handle: @badbadnotgoodbnd
• YouTube Channel: BADBADNOTGOOD

Personal Life

Alexander Sowinski

• Height: 180 cm
• Marriages: Alex has never been married.
• Children: None.
• Dating History: No public dating history or romantic relationships have been officially confirmed. He maintains an incredibly private personal life, prioritizing his public presence entirely around music production, drumming, and artistic collaboration.

Chester Hansen

• Height: 178 cm
• Marriages: Chester has never been married.
• Children: None.
• Dating History: No romantic relationships or partners have been publicly detailed. He keeps his private life completely separate from his music career, utilizing his social platforms strictly to showcase his bass work, touring schedules, and studio production credits.

Leland Whitty

• Height: 175 cm
• Marriages: Leland has never been married.
• Children: None.
• Dating History: No public dating history or past relationships are documented. Coming from a tight-knit family of musicians in Toronto, his public focus remains strictly on multi-instrumental composition, session work, and his creative output with BBNG.

Matthew Tavares

• Height: 178 cm
• Marriages: Matthew has never been married.
• Children: None.
• Dating History: No public romantic relationships have been confirmed. Following his departure from BADBADNOTGOOD in 2019, his public profile focuses exclusively on his solo musical endeavors, composition work under his Matty moniker, and independent recording sessions.

Net Worth

BADBADNOTGOOD has an estimated collective net worth of over $5 million (USD). The Canadian jazz ensemble has built its wealth through successful album releases, strong global streaming performance, extensive international touring, and appearances at major music festivals.

In addition to their own recordings, the group has earned significant revenue through production and collaborative work with prominent artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Tyler, The Creator, Daniel Caesar, Kali Uchis, and Post Malone. Their combination of performance, production, and collaborative projects has established BADBADNOTGOOD as one of the most commercially successful modern jazz groups.

Discography

• BBNG (2011)
• BBNG2 (2012)
• III (2014)
• Sour Soul (with Ghostface Killah) (2015)
• IV (2016)
• Talk Memory (2021)
• Mid Spiral (2024)