What are you eating for breakfast? How about some biscuits n gravy? I’m serving up a blend of funk and rap in this delicious podcast. This is the first podcast I recorded using The Bridge. I figured since Serato and Ableton created something so good together, I could serve up some mixes that would go together like some good southern comfort food. You’ll hear a lot of party breaks in this but it holds true to what the Stone Groove is all about, old school funk and soul. Let me know what you think about the mix. As always link to the podcast on iTunes is after the jump.
I wanted to start 2011 off with a stone solid Funk Friday track. I’ll admit I didn’t dig to the dusty section of my closet or reach to the ends of the Earth to find this one. However, despite it not being the rarest selection out there, this track will take you on an amazing funk odyssey to the edge of the galaxy and back again. As always here’s a little knowledge on the artists themselves.
Slave was an Ohio based funk group lead by Steve Washington. Who’s Steve Washington you ask? Well he’s the nephew of Ralph Middlebrook of the Ohio Players. Slave preformed some very gritty and hard edged funk and it’s no secret once you listen to this track how the tracks father “Slide” topped the singles charts in 1977 which helped bring their self titled album to number 6 on the U.S. R&B chart.
“Son of Slide” can almost be considered an instrumental version of “Slide.” However, after listening to both tracks one can hear that the bass line in “Son of Slide” is more prominent and chunky. “Son” also features a hypnotic chant at the end softly alerting and assuring that dancers can, “Slide with me till morning.” It’s a shame that part of the song is only a few seconds long. I’m sure any DJ can play that part at least three minutes and get away with it. (Thank you looping function in Serato!) The guitar solo in the middle of the track is set to power any funk mothership throughout hyperspace and cruising speeds are brought to you by the horn section. No wonder why Tribe Called Quest sampled the hell out of this on their People’s Instinctive Travels “Go Ahead in the Rain.” All in all, this track embodies what Funk Friday is all about. Don’t sleep on this track.
Yo everyone, it’s that time of year when all the radio stations and department stores are playing all the commercial tunes featuring some contemporary artist R&Bing every Christmas song memory you have. If you are like me then you are fed up with the junk and you want to replace your Christmas playlist with some holiday funk! Hit the jump to download the Stone Groove Christmas Mix 2010.
Bobby Byrd will probably be best known for his association with James Brown. However, Byrd had many successful years as a solo artist and with other groups. “If You Don’t Work” is one of Byrd’s early tracks that I feel didn’t get the same fame as “Hot Pants.” (After all, “Hot Pants” was sampled by nearly every rap artist in the late 80’s and 90’s.)
“If You Don’t Work” is a superb funk track with a pretty straight forward message. The lyrics aren’t complicated but they hold true even for today. The simple guitar riff throughout the song really keeps your attention and carries the track. The horns give it that classic James Brown/Bobby Byrd flavor. The drums keep your feet moving. Perfect track for Funk Friday.
This is one of the most legendary funk albums of the 70’s. It’s one of those albums that when you find it you will become the envy of any crate digger out there. And thanks to Clay at 52.5 Records he was able to land a copy of this album for me. So you can send your hate emails to me whenever. Anyway, the Skull Snaps cut just this one album and it’s blend of hard breaks, soulful vocals, and soaring grooves will continue to make this album a must for any collector for years to come.
I only heard the track “It’s a New Day.” prior to the whole album. It is a phemominal mix of soul and funk, not to mention the opening break has been sampled by so many rap artists. In fact, some record collectors swear up and down this track gave the rhythm for nearly all the early 90’s rap and has been credited as the most sampled drum beat in all rap music.
The album as a whole is just this incredible ride through a funk and soul rollercoaster! After listening to the first side of the album, I was blown away by each of the tracks. The haunting vocals, and the breaks were just insane! I got up and flipped the record over to the B-Side and the ride did not stop. The first song that comes at you is “I’m Your Pimp” and you would swear that should have been used in a Dolemite movie. With lyrics like, “I wear my hat to the side….I walk with a limp…” How could it have not been in that movie?
This is one of the best albums that I have ever heard. This goes to show that digging does pay off, and to stay away from the Top 40. You don’t find real soul like this in music today. This album is a perfect example of early 70’s funk and will continue to be a collector’s item. In fact you can only find re-issues on Ebay and for the actual album, good luck trying to find one under triple digits.
Tracks A1 My Hang Up Is You (4:02)
A2 Having You Around (4:30)
A3 Didn’t I Do It To You (3:15)
A4 All Of A Sudden (3:23)
A5 It’s A New Day (3:04)
B1 I’m Your Pimp (4:03)
B2 I Turn My Back On Love (2:45)
B3 Trespassing (4:03)
B4 I’m Falling Out Of Love (2:46)
