Spaced Invaders

Sonar shows some love to the growing unemployed population in the United States by dropping some smooth grooves to help in that job search.

Tracklisting:

1. Curtis Mayfield-Hard Times
2. Dick Walter-Sillouttes
3. The Five Stairsteps-Ooh Child
4. The Dramatics-Whatcha See is Whatcha Get
5. Grover Washington Jr.-Hydra
6. Dusty Springfield-Son of A Preacher Man
7. Cypress Hill-Hits From The Bong
8. A Tribe Called Quest-Push It Along
9. Grover Washington Jr.-Loran’s Dance
10. War-The World Is A Ghetto
11. Wet Willie-Beggar’s Song
12. The 9th Creation-Rule Of Mind
13. Marvin Gaye-Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
14. The Roots-Syreeta
15. Bob James-Tappan Zee
16. Hawkeye-Meet Me At The Roosevelt
17. Exile-It’s Coming Down

*Bonus Track* Bobbi Humphrey-Harlem River Drive

 

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I was going through some old funk albums this weekend, looking for the perfect beat as usual, and I ran across this old gem that I semi-forgot how some of the tracks sounded. So, I loaded it up on the decks and took a listen. From what I understand Kool and the Gang’s self released album was an unexpected success. After listening to their first single on the album, also self titled, it’s not hard to understand why this album was a success. The single climbed both pop and R&B charts at the time, reaching #19 on the R&B and #59 on the pop. Subsequent singles “The Gang’s Back Again,” “Let the Music Take Your Mind,” and “Funky Man,” followed and moved steadily up the charts. However, there were still many notable tracks such as “Raw Hamburger,” and “Chocolate Buttermilk.” This record is a total ruckus to listen to and contains the trademark styles of the band before the late disco era: smooth melodies, brassy horns, and funky-as-all-hell drumming. This album has stood up to the test of time and has been sampled by many early rap artists and is considered a classic in the eyes of the stoic vinyl collector and breaks from this album still surface in b-boy competitions across the world. I have listed the artists that sampled from this album below:

Song: Give it Up
A Tribe Called Quest - “Scenario”
Beastie Boys - “Professor Booty”
Compton’s Most Wanted - “Compton 4 Life”
Cypress Hill - “The Phuncky Feel One”
Deee-Lite - “Deee-Lite Theme”
Eric B and Rakim - “Don’t Sweat the Technique”
GangStarr - “Take a Rest”
Greg Osby - “3-D Lifestyles”
Lionrock - “Morning Will Come When I’m Not Ready”
MC Brains - “Everybody’s Talkin’ about MC Brains”
NWA - “Real Niggaz”
Organized Konfusion - “Intro”
Uptown - “Dope on Plastic”
X-Clan - “Shaft’s Big Score”

Song: Chocolate Buttermilk
Chubb Rock - “The Night Scene”
Eric B and Rakim - “Keep ‘em Eager to Listen”
Eric B and Rakim - “No Omega”
Heavy D - “Let it Flow”
Marley Marl - “Simon Says”
Masta Ace - “Simon Says”
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - “Straighten it Out”
Special Ed - “Ready 2 Attack”
SL2 - “On A Ragga Tip”
Stetsasonic - “The Hip Hop Band”
Style - “Set the Mood”
YBT - “Proud to Be Black”

Song: Let the Music Take Your Mind
Beastie Boys - “Lay it on Me”
Boss - “Process of Elimination”
Ice Cube - “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted”
Ice T - “Freedom of Speech”
Jungle Brothers - “What’s Going On?”
Ultramagnetic MCs - “MC Champion”

Song: Breeze & Soul
Dr. Octagon - “Bear Witness”
Jimmy Jay - “Les Cool Session”

 

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