Bad Brains

Bad Brains formed in Washington, D.C. in 1977 as a jazz-fusion quartet before a chance encounter with punk rock sent them chasing something faster and more extreme. Guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer, drummer Earl Hudson, and vocalist H.R. brought a level of instrumental precision to hardcore that few of their peers could match, playing at tempos that seemed to defy the genre's own limits while never losing the tightness of a band that had trained as jazz musicians first.

The band's embrace of Rastafari added reggae interludes to their sets and records, a jarring but deliberate contrast to the hardcore assault surrounding them, and H.R.'s frontman presence became legendary among a generation of hardcore and post-hardcore musicians. Bad Brains, first circulated on cassette before a wider reissue, is now regarded as one of the foundational documents of American hardcore, its influence stretching from the DC scene that formed around Dischord Records to funk-metal and alternative rock acts who never shared a stage with them.