After putting out a series of covers, as well as the original track "Salmonella," in mid-2011, the band released their debut album BBNG for free on their Bandcamp page in September 2011. The album circulated around the blogosphere and was championed by tastemakers DJ Gilles Peterson and critic Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop.[2] Peterson would go on to invite them to play at his Worldwide Awards in London in January 2012.[3] In a positive review of the album, Fantano complemented their fusion of hip hop, electronic, and jazz traditions and said that the group "show a lot of great musicianship... and they just play off each other so well." However, he wished that the record was a bit more focused and contained more original material.[4]
The album was quickly followed by two live albums, BBNGLIVE 1 and BBNGLIVE 2, released in November 2011 and February 2012, respectively.[5][6]
In June 2011, the group released an early version of their album online.[8] Titled BADBADNOTGOOD, and sometimes referred to as BBNG, only one track later appeared on their debut album, the original "Salmonella;"[9][10] a version of the EP's fifth track appeared on their sophomore album as "Bastard/Lemonade" and "Hard in The Paint" was included as a b-side.[11][12] The EP was later removed from the internet. Prior to the EP, they released their Odd Future Sessions online for digital download under the name The Odd Trio.[13][14]
^"Live Sessions: BADBADNOTGOOD". NPR Music Live Sessions. Archived from the original on 2019-10-24. Retrieved 2020-12-17. ...the band released their first EP BBNG in June 2011 to wide praise.