Gregory Porter was a vocalist in a jazz collective when he linked up with Teflon Dons for this incredible session. This was Porter’s first record ever — and the original session was done in virtually a single take. “I played the rhythm track I had on the SP-1200,” Teflon Don Aaron Paar told me a year ago, “and he sat on a chair with a notepad and starting jotting away some lyrics. I asked ‘Do you need to hear any more?’ He said, ‘No, I got it.'”

Porter took another pass for the 12″ release but it’s impossible not to share in the excitement of that original session for “Tomorrow People.” Worldship Music has dropped a 25th anniversary repress, remastered and recut, along with “bonus beats” not on the original record.

The tracks haven’t been sanitized in the process: the drums on the main mix still sizzle and you can still hear the warmth of the room tone. This has been said about a few records (including I think by me), but the original mix sounds like the best record Romanthony never made. I’ve only actually heard this in YouTube versions before — the original, despite high hopes at Worldship, became instead “more of a cult classic than anything” and I didn’t have a hundred dollars to find an original copy — so it’s revelatory to hear this more or less how it must have been intended rather than trapped in a video codex.

“It was fucking amazing hearing him belt it out,” Paar remembered about that original session. “We knew we had something here.” They certainly did. Porter’s now won two Grammys for jazz recordings but it’s fair to wonder if deep house wasn’t a fine fit for his talents too.

⚪️ Tomorrow People Tracklisting

Teflon Dons featuring Gregory Porter: Tomorrow People (25th Anniversary Reissue) (Worldship Music / 12" Vinyl)
A1. Tomorrow People (Main Mix) (8:14)
A2. Tomorrow People (Bonus Beats) (3:02)
B1. Tomorrow People (Teflon Dub) (6:20)
B2. Tomorrow People (Original Mix) (7:01)

⚪️ Disclosure Statement

This record was submitted as a promo.

⚪️ Previous Coverage

⚪️   Features: Rudiments: Worldship Music and the return of the Teflon Dons (2023)
⚪️   New Music: An unparalleled V/A from Worldship on Herald Traccs Vol 1 (2022)
⚪️   New Music: Roberta’s Brooklyn Ave Sessions is giving us life this year (2022)
⚪️   New Music: Teflon Dons release the ultra-rare & ultra-fine Rudiments 25th Anniversary Edits (2021)

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5 Mag Issue 212
Out April 2024

BELOVED: This was originally published in 5 Mag Issue #212 featuring an oral history of Freerange, DJ Paulette, Black Sjuan, Elbert Phillips, Dark Heaven and more. Become a member for $2/month and get every issue in your inbox right away!