To meet Dam Funk is to know his music. The Pasadena, California native with the throwback braids is as cool as a customer as they come. His slow roll reminds you of Snoop Dogg - another soul cal suburb native. But where Snoop came riding in on Dr. Dre's and Death Row Record's express lane to the charts - Dam Funk dug for rare records and worked in his garage music lab by night, perfecting his take on "Boogie" -aka "electro funk" the missing link between 70s Funk and hip hop - popularized by such bands as Zapp, Cameo and The Gap Band.
After expanding his record collection until it bulged out of his house - Dam Funk began promoting "Funkmosphere" - an LA monday night boogie funk party. It grew in popularity to the point, where wildly popular/extremely selective stoner-hop label Stones Throw Records absorbed him into their posse - first taking him on their corporate-sponsored DJ tours - and then releasing the 5Lp/ 2 CD "Toeachizown" collection last year.
Released to near universal acclaim "Toeachizown" is a chamelion-like work that offers different flavors to people with different needs.
For crate diggers, it's a nostalgic throwback to the Boogie movement. For hip hop kids, it's notice that the music that backs up the music of their youth is meant to have vocals on it. For the folks who want to get on the dance floor - it's a slow G-funk grind that will allow you to develop musculature that will come in handy later in the night - if you play your cards right. For DJs, it's proof that perhaps a few music lessons might come in handy, as if you grind hard enough you might be able to replace the face on the 12" sleeve, with your own.
Tonight, Dam Funk will be going back and forth from the wheels of steel with a keytar in hand, showing Miami what a one-man funk show can be. As his Vagabond gig is likely to be packed, you might wanna head down to Overtown before 10 to make sure you get your musical waders on before the funk gets deep.
Comments