I’m going to keep the goofy funky video vibe going here with two vids from Mr. Scruff. This first Mr. Scruff video is called “Sweet Smoke,” and it features the Ninja Tune artist’s signature happy potato art.
This wildly entertaining Cut Chemist video called “Spat” is a recorded conversation between two very different turntables. TFU Studios is responsible for the video production. I think it’s fantastic.
We couldn’t close this electro binge out proper-like without including the best electro jam of all time - Hashim - Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)! So much goodness. I came up on this 1983 Cutting Records classic like eight years ago while I was sifting through $1 record bins in a Santa Cruz Flea Market. The great thing about this non-video YouTube video is that it has that two-minute extra bonus beat at the end of Side A. Wait for it…
We can’t stop. There are just too many sick electro tracks wasting away on YouTube, when they should be living right here. This electro video isn’t even a video, but if you ever have an emergency Davy DMX - One For The Treble situation, you know where to go.
When you think of this classic electro track, it conjures up images of b-boys breakin’ back in the day. The video that first accompanied this super-influential 1983 jam is way different. Man Parrish may look fruity, but no one can take away the impact this song had hip hop culture and countless other electronic music genres. The electro label gets tossed around frequently these days, but whenever I think of funky electro music, Hip Hop Be Bop always comes to mind.
Yep, the Brand New Heavies still got it. Delicious Vinyl’s most celebrated funk act has been dropping soulful, funky jams for nearly two decades now. After a hiatus of sorts, the Heavies came out with a new album in 2006. With singer N’Dea Davenport back in the mix, the band went on a whirlwind tour to promote their latest offering - Get Used To It. Read the rest…
If funk and disco went toe-to-toe in a steel cage death-match in New York City, the resulting brawl would be called Fatback.
The Fatback band began dropping funky licks in the early 70s. As disco entered the scene, Fatback shortened it’s name and started producing distinct, upbeat New York funk-infused dance grooves. This signature party sound was the perfect marriage of raw funk and the good side of disco.
This site was put together to teach people about the depth and range of all things funky. In the following excerpts from the BBC documentary series Soul Deep: The History of Black Popular Music, you’ll learn about the origins of funk and how it ties into various other strains of music.
Soul Deep: The History of Black Popular Music was a six-part BBC music documentary series produced in 2005.
Here’s the episode breakdown:
1. The Birth Of Soul
2. The Gospel Highway
3. The Sound Of Young America
4. Southern Soul
5. Ain’t It Funky
6. From Ghetto to Fabulous
Now sit back and enjoy Episode 5 - Ain’t It Funky.
Listen to James Brown, George Clinton, The Temptations and others explain how passionate, honest and raw funky music revolutionized an entire decade. This one-hour installment of Soul Deep is broken into eight, easily consumable YouTube clips.
Have you ever wanted to make a hit record with Rick James? Well in 1985, Eddie Murphy got that chance. Sure, it’s cheesy, and yea, maybe Eddie Murphy can’t sing, but “Party All the Time” is still fat slice of funky-synth pop goodness. The lyrics, the Rick James interjections, the infectious beat — this track has it all. And the video, it’s just a masterpiece. It’s a shame this winning combination of Murphy-James didn’t leave us with anything else.