Bringin’ the FUNK to yo salty behind…
Class is in session kids.
Seriously though, if you are not hip to the funky stuff look no further. Funk and Soul are by far my favorite genres of music (outside of hiphop) and I am about to bless you with some must have albums. You may have noticed that funk, soul and all things daptone are back in the mainstream and I am hoping they’re here to stay longer than the last few musical ‘fads’ that came and went.
I would argue funk is one of very few genres that are all-inclusive. You can bring a friend to any (good) funk or soul performance and no matter what their background or musical tastes, they will be gettin’ on the good foot like the Godfather of Soul before you can say “hit me!” Throw on a crackin’ breakbeat or drop the needle onto a classic .45 and just about everybody with functioning eardrums is gonna nod their head… how many styles of music can truly claim this?
Anyway, get some funk in your life. Here’s a list of some current groups and record labels to watch out for:
Lets just say Ubiquity Records is killing it right now. Not only are they at the forefront of re-issuing classic bay area funk, they have some of today’s best acts signed to their label. Pay attention young padawan…
Moving on, we have Daptone Records. All real classic sounding tunes that stay true to the genre in every sense. These peeps are getting serious attention these days (much deserved) and are also in the drivers seat of this funky rebirth.
Next on the list are two groups from Europe that bring serious heat. I don’t know, nor care, what label they are signed to. They rock, plain and simple.
Breakout! does a vicious rendition of Planet Rock live that gives me multiple eargasms.
Finally we have Wax Poetics and the Names You Can Trust helmed by one of my favorite dj’s Monk-One. He is a big part of Wax Poetics magazine, which is the monthly funk/soul bible for those interested. He also hosts my favorite internet radio stream, Wax Poetics radio on Scion Radio 17.
As for the Names You Can Trust, they are a collective (also helmed by Monk) out of Brooklyn, NYC that bring the fatbackin sound to their website in the form of FREE DOWNLOADABLE LIVE DJ SETS AND REMIXES. I mean hours and hours and hours of some incredibly dope music. Get with it Jive Turkey…
So there you have it. This is a good start towards becoming fully funkified. These groups are all current. I didn’t even touch on the shelves of vinyl and gigs of digital files I have stocked up over the years. The real root down sound from the 60s and 70s will be coved next time. Funkology 102 will be in session soon.
STUDY UP
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Love the suggestions DJ 100 proof. Definitely be picking some of these up. Looking forward to the 102 class.
Yeow! A little peppa for my salty behind.
More like habanero sauce…That spicy Funk! One taste and it stays with you for days.
Maybe that’ll be my headline for a Latin/Afro Beat post
OK, so I’m just going to spend my day scrolling through each and every one of these funky-assed mySpace pages. Finally a soundtrack to match my mustache.
Lovin the Ping Pong Orchestra’s version of “Toxic.” I just heard another version of it on Mark Ronson’s album “Version.” It ain’t funk, per se, but it is killer.
Version…
Breakstra is in heavy rotation at the moment for those weekends where you’re waking up late from sippin on that brown juice the evening prior.