PLAYLIST | Cork | 7.7.11

10:30pm 

Eddie Kendricks - Keep on Truckin

Booker T and the Mg's - Hip Hug Her

Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair

Instant Funk - I Got My Mind Made Up

The Gap Band - Humpin'

De La Soul - Say No Go

A Tribe Called Quest - Youthful Expression

The Afro's - Feel It

Slick Rick - Mona Lisa

Stevie Wonder - All Day Sucker

11:00pm

2nd II None - If You Want It

Parliament - Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)

A Tribe Called Quest - Luck Of Lucien

Crooklyn - The Crooklyn Dodgers

Gang Starr - Mass Appeal

Alkaholiks - Daaam!

George Benson - Gonna Love You More

Nas - One Love

De La Soul - Much More

Cypress Hill - Hits From The Bong

Warren G - This DJ

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - Answer Me

Leon Haywood - I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You

Curtis Mayfield - Tripping Out

Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear

Notorious B.I.G. - Warning

Black Moon - I Gotcha Open

Al Wilson - Show & Tell

Ohio Players - Funky Worm

The Roots - Proceed

De La Soul - Dog Eat Dog

Slum Village - 2U4U

Del the Funky Homosapien - Sunny Meadowz

12:00am

Isaac Hayes - Hyperbolicsyllablicsesquedalymistic

Toots and the Maytals - Time Tough

Biggie - Unbelievable

Zhané - Hey Mr. D.J.

Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love

Too Short - Blow The Whistle

The Beatnuts feat. Big Pun, Cuban Link - Off The Books

Erick Sermon - React

Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz - Deja Vu

De La Soul - Baby Phat

Grand Master Flash - The Message

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message

EPMD - So What Cha Sayin'

Eric B & Rakim - Paid in Full

Snoop Dogg ft Nate Dogg & Kurupt - Ain't No Fun

Ol' Dirty Bastard feat Kelis - Got Your Money

Ghostface Killah - Cher Che La Ghost

Wu Tang Clan - Method Man - Dirty

E-40 ft Keak Da Sneak - Tell Me When To Go

1:00am

N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton

Naughty By Nature - Uptown Anthem

Stetsasonic - Talkin' All That Jazz

Poor Righteous Teachers - Shaykila

A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxtion

Common - The Light

2Pac - I Get Around

The Pharcyde - Drop

Masta Ace INC - The INC Ride

KRS-One - Sound Of Da Police

Jay-Z featuring Foxy Brown - Ain't No Nigga 

END

PLAYLIST | Cork: The Get Down Downtown | 6.16.11

Getting down at Cork every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.

11:00pm

Michael Jackson - Off The Wall

A Tribe Called Quest - Jazz - Buggin Out

Biggie - One More Chance Hip Hop Remix

Leon Haywood - I Want To Do Something Freaky With You

Dr. Dre - Fuck Wit Dre Day

Mtume - Juicy Fruit

Stevie Wonder - Superstition

Zapp & Roger - Cutie Pie

A Tribe Called Quest - Find A Way

Nas - If I Ruled The World ft Lauren Hill

George Mccrae - I Get Lifted

Kool and the Gang - Jungle Boogie

George Clinton - Atomic Dog

Zapp - More Bounce to the Ounce

EPMD - You Gots To Chill

A Tribe Called Quest - Award Tour

De La Soul - Baby Phat

12:00am 

The Gap Band - Outstanding

Mary Jane Girls - All Night Long

The Boogie Boys - A Fly Girl

A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxtion

Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full

Mad Lion - Take It Easy

Gang Starr feat. Nice & Smooth - DWYCK

Eric Sermon - Music

Slave - Just a Touch of Love

Big Boi - Shutterbugg

Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be

California Swag District - Teach Me How To Dougie

The Notorious B.I.G - Big Poppa

Nas - The World Is Yours

The Firm - Phone Tap

Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear

LL Cool J - I'm Bad

The Fugees - Fu-Ge-La

Alchemist ft. Prodigy & Nina Sky - Hold You Down

Da Brat - Funkdafied

Jr Mafia - Get Money

Biggie ft Faith Evans - One More Chance Remix

1:00am

Masta Ace - Born To Roll

Ice Cube - You Know How We Do It

A Tribe Called Quest - Check The Rhime

Common - The Light

Snoop Dogg ft Nate Dogg - Ain't No Fun

Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours

Grandmaster Flash - The Message

Ice Cube feat. Das EFX - Check Yo Self

A Tribe Called Quest - Scenario

Cypress Hill - How I Could Just Kill A Man

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over You

Souls Of Mischief - 93 Till Infinity

Jay-Z - Change Clothes - Dirty

Busta Rhymes - Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See

Truth Hurts Ft. Rakim - Addictive

Friday Funkdown | The Bar-Kays

The Bar-Kays first played together in 1966 as a backing band on Stax Records.  There were 6 original band members; Jimmy King, Ronnie Caldwell, Phalon Jones, Carl Cunningham, Ben Cauley, and James Alexander.  Just as their career was taking off King, Caldwell, Jones and Cunningham along with Otis Redding and his manager, were killed in a plane crash over Lake Monona.  Cauley and Alexander were on a separate plane since there was only enough room for 8 passengers.
After some time, the remaining members began to rebuild the band.  They found success playing for Isaac Hayes on his albums “Hot Buttered Soul”, “Shaft”, “Movement” and “To Be Continued”.  The Bar-Kays were immediately recognized as a band with a lot of talent and were eventually signed to Mercury Records.
Soul Finger was released in 1967 and reached #3 on the R&B chart.  Other hits include Son Of Shaft (1972), Shake Your Rump To The Funk (1976), Lets Have Some Fun (1978), Hit & Run (1981), and Freak Show on the Dance Floor (1984).
Many hip hop artists have been influenced by The Bar-Kays such as; Cypress Hill, Ice Cube, De La Soul, Edan, Public Enemy, and The Beastie Boys.
I first heard the Freak Show On The Dance Floor when it was featured in the movie "Breakin".  I thought the song was kind of cool, and the chorus was catchy.  As I got older I was able to appreciate the talent of the entire band, both new and old members.  Hit & Run is constantly in my playlist whenever I play out.
The Bar-Kays are still available for booking and will be playing at the Monterey Blues Festival on June 24^th.  They still put on a pretty dope show and are worth checking out if you get the chance.

Friday Funkdown | Barry White

Barry Eugene White was born in Galveston, Texas in 1944.  His family eventually moved to South Central Los Angeles where he began playing piano at an early age.  White started gang banging with his brother Darryl and eventually was locked up for stealing over $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires.  While serving 4 months in jail he heard Elvis Presley sing “Now or Never” on the radio. That moment changed his life.


White began his music career in the 60s with several music groups.  His found success in 1972 when he produced the all female group Love Unlimited.  Their first album, From A Girls Point of View, We Bring to You… Love Unlimited sold over a million copies.

His solo career began in 1973 with singles “I’ve Got So Much To Give” and “I’m Gonna Give You Just a Little More Baby” which quickly soared to the #1 spot on the Billboard R&B chart.  Soon after, White recorded a number of hits including “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe”, “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up”, “What Am I Gonna Do With You” and “It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me”.

Sadly, Barry White died in 2003 after struggling with obesity during most of his adult life.  He was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2004.
Quite a few hip-hop artists such as N.W.A., Rodney O and Joe Cooley, Nas, O.C., Black Moon and CMW have sampled Barry White.

I was introduced to Barry White as a young child in Boston, MA.  My mom had an extensive record collection and I can distinctly remember the I’ve Got So Much To Give album cover, which I was lucky to inherit.  My favorite Barry White song is the unmistakable baby-maker “Playing Your Game, Baby”.  Big ups to my man Rory Pendergast, the biggest Barry White fan I know.

Friday Funkdown | Cameo

Thirteen original band members formed the New York City Players in the early 70s.  By 1974 they had changed their name to Cameo to avoid confusion between them and a similar funk band, The Ohio Players.  By this time the band was carrying 24 members led by Larry Blackmon.  They were eventually signed to Casablanca Records in 1976.

Cameo started out as a funk band with singles such as “I Just Want To Be”, “Find My Way” and “Rigor Mortis”.  When synthesizers became big in the 80s, Cameo capitalized on the movement.  They changed their style to a more disco/dance genre and saw huge success with songs “She’s Strange”, “Single Life”, and their two biggest hits; “Word Up” and “Candy”.
The band’s success faded in the late 80s and into the 90s.  Although they were still releasing albums major labels Mercury and Reprise, they had pretty much fallen off.  They released their most recent album Sexy Sweet Thing in 2000.

Several members of the band are still making music today.  Aaron Mills (bass), Jheryl Bright (Trombone) and Kevin Kendrick have been hired by the hip hop group OutKast for live and studio sessions.  Aaron Mills actually recorded the bassline for “Ms. Jackson”, one of Outkast’s big hits.

Hip hop artists such as Brand Nubian, Above The Law, The Beastie Boys, King Tee and Kool Moe Dee have sampled Cameo.

I became a Cameo fan back in the day when I first heard “I Just Want To Be”.  That jam is so funky!  After a little break, the release of “Candy” and “Word Up” had me hooked once again.  I play at least one Cameo joint every time I play out.  No matter what the crowd is, I always get a good response.  Ooow!

Friday Funkdown | Leon Haywood

Leon Haywood started his career in the 1960’s in Houston, Texas as a singer/songwriter.  After relocating to Los Angeles he recorded over 20 US R&B singles on Decca Records, Columbia Records, and MCA Records.  His most popular single is “I Wanta Do Something Freaky To You” in 1974 which he recored on 20^th Century Records.  The single reached #7 on the R&B chart and #15 on the Pop chart on 1975.  His song “Push It, Don’t Force It” was a Top 40 hit single in the UK in 1980.  Haywood is also credited with writing the 1981 song "She's a Bad Mama Jama" recorded by Carl Carlton. Haywood is considered a one hit wonder by most.  However, his one hit is one of the funkiest songs of all time.  “I Wanta Do Something Freaky To You” is one of the most recognizable funk tracks ever, as it was sampled by Dr. Dre on “Nuthin But A G Thang”.  This was the first time I had ever heard of Leon Haywood.  Although he is improperly cited on the album as L. Hayward, it wasn’t long before we all figured out who he was.  Public Enemy, Bloods & Crips, Redman, Masta Ace, Aaliyah and 50 Cent have also sampled this song.
“I Wanta Do Something Freaky To You” sets the crowd off every time I play it.  I had one dude say to me “Are you really playing Leon Haywood right now?”  Yes my friend I am, and I will continue to play that single until my days of DJing are over.