The Rise of D-Funk

During Dam-Funk's takeover of Benji B's BBC 1Xtra program this week, the latter told the Leimert Park -based funk pharaoh how much sense his music makes in Los Angeles, describing it as the ideal driving music--a simple but accurate observation. Dam's slinky, swaying sunshine funk combines his 80s inspirations (Slave, Aurra, early Prince) with the 40's and Four-Four grooves of West Coast gangsta rap. After all, this is a man who spent a sizable chunk of the 90s playing key boards on Westside Connection and MC Eiht records (on a tangentially related note, there is never a bad time to watch the "Straight Up Menace" video.) In the midst of promoting the 2-CD release of the excellent Toeachizown, which finally dropped last Tuesday (the full 5-LP boxed set won't hit stores until late December/Early January), Dam's been busy, with his Benji B appearance essential for anyone interested in learning more about the man behind the funk (he was also apparently on the I Got the Hook-Up Soundtrack), plus the chance to hear some jams from his new record, some largely unheard CD-R cuts, and esoteric cuts from artists that no one other than Dam and Peanut Butter Wolf are probably familiar with. To add to the haul, Dam also just dropped a new free mixtape featuring tracks from Nite Jewel, Mono/Poly, and another array of obscure old-school funk and R&B jams. You want the funk, you need the funk, you gotta have the funk. Download: ZIP: Dam-Funk on Deviation/Soulful Beats with Benji B (10/25/09) (Left-Click) MP3: Dam-Funk-Beautiful Music 4 Beautiful People Mixtape MP3: Dam-Funk-"Hood Pass Intact" MP3: Dam-Funk-"The Sky is Ours" MP3: Dam-Funk-"Love is Here 2Nite"