No Lames Up In Here: Dam-Funk/Master Blazter at Highline Ballroom 10.25.2011

Anyone who really knows me knows how I feel about this man.

I feel strongly.

I had been looking forward to his New York show since the tickets first went on sale months ago, and I spent the days leading up to Tuesday night's set at Highline Ballroom by immersing myself in a healthy dose of Slave, Kleeer, Zapp and One Way (standard procedure for me, actually). I went with the only other two people who worship the Funk as much as I do, my best friend and my brother, and once we arrived, it was clear that the audience was strictly made up of people in the know: I'd be willing to bet that the venue wasn't even filled to half capacity that night. Which meant that we got to be front row for the majority of the show, I got to catch one of the giveaway copies of his new (free!) EP, InnaFocusedDaze, AND we got to hold his hand. He even let some randoms jam on his keytar.

For this tour, Dam is forgoing his usual live setup and instead is joined by Master Blazter, creating a funk trifecta: Computer Jay on keys and synthesizers (with triggers), J-1 on drums (and triggers) and Dam supplying keys, (candy red) keytar, vocals and the overall funk. Do. Not. Miss. This. They have been touring the country in a bus bringing the funk (not to mention hooking it up with secret last minute shows and DJ sets) and it truly is one of the best live music experiences one can have. The music this man makes is nothing short of gorgeous. Modern funk symphonies. I don't think anyone respects funk music and the history of it like Dam. It's an extension of himself- there is no distinguishing. Watching him perform is electrifying, almost hypnotic. He's a musical national treasure, and I think, my spirit animal.

His next full length album drops in the spring of next year so if the world really does end in 2012 I'll be fucking furious.

Apart from every single second of the show, I would have to say my favorite parts can be easily put into a top 5 list. In no particular order of G level, they are as follows:

5. After the encore of "Hood Pass Intact", Dam wrapped the show up by saying "you are now free to go, goodnight." (And I'm glad he said something. Because I would've stayed. Seriously.)
4. His 10 minute synth fueled diatribe where he yelled "FUCK DAVE CHAPPELLE, RICK JAMES WAS A REAL G"
3. The beautifully stripped down (it was almost acappella, save for him on keys) and smoothed out version of "I Wanna Thank You for (Steppin Into My Life)", complete with glowing blue spot light beams (one of the most romantic and sincere songs of all time in my humble opinion, and I may or may not have teared up)
2. The Vocoder/keytar Gap Band cover of "Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)"
1. THE INSANE KEYTAR SOLO THAT HE PERFORMED WHILE LAYING DOWN, A MERE 6 INCHES FROM MY MELTED FACE

I leave you with this. You're welcome.

Scion A/V Presents: Dâm-Funk - Forever from Scion A/V on Vimeo.

This Looks Promising.

Stones Throw via Fuel TV's The Daily Habit

Open Post: Dam-Funk Has Always Been Cooler Than You.

So, this "new" (the tracks were all made between the years 1988-1992) album came out a short while ago, and it is the only thing I want to listen to, ever. I already have been obsessing over Dam-Funk for some time now, but when I copped this at Reckless Records over Thanksgiving I pretty much stopped caring about anything else. Toeachizown is a flawless synth masterpiece, but this record, Adolescent Funk, is truly special because he made it while most of his peers were gang banging, drug selling and jerking off.

When I think back to my high school years, I remember getting high and listening to MF Doom and failing trigonometry. But Dam was killing it and making bedroom funk synth symphonies in his actual bedroom. I mean, fuck. It's not like I have ever tried or wanted to play a Casio SK-1, but still. I listen to this record and I think, "I was never, and will never be this cool. Deal with it." Just look at the cover photo: Jesus. Why wasn't he my high school boyfriend? Whoever that adorable piece in the cut out black dress and patterned nylons is knows what I'm talking about. She's looking at the camera like, yeah, we're in love. And yeah, we will have amazing 16 year-old sex to the sounds of Mtume and Kleeer. And yes, I will be keeping these hoops on. What a dreamboat.

All 14 tracks on this album are contagiously slinky and amazing, but my favorite is Side D which contains the kiss off "I Don't Love U" and the insanely repeatable "Attitude," a warning to any and all moody ladies out there. Dam does NOT think that shit is cute and he will ignore your pages. Young Dam is an introspective lover, a gentle genius who just wants to love you and treat you right, all night, but has no problem breaking hearts if need be ("I Don't Want U" and the love triangle jam "When I'm With U I Think Of Her"). All he asks is that you chill out on the drama and wear those tight spandex pants ("I Like Your Big Azz (Girl)"). Totally reasonable, I think.

The outro at the end of the album is my favorite end to this funk odyssey: a young heartbroken lady (perhaps one of the ones from the front or back cover art? There are several hot young things from Dam's seminal high school days featured, including the star of the show in the aforementioned backless number) apologizes for her nasty sass and admits that not only was she in the wrong, but that she deserved to be dumped and will use this experience in her future relationships. She also hopes they can still be friends. And loves him very much. I don't care if that message is genuinely from a resident of Dam's Heartbreak Hotel or is just his cousin doing the recording for him as a favor for $5 and a bag of Cheetos, it is the best use of an answering machine since the intro on Biggie's "One More Chance."

Peanut Butter Wolf put this gem together after listening to some of Dam's work from his formative years. He originally intended to release a couple 7-inches, but after his wife cried while listening to "It's My Life!" (really) he decided it all was too good to choose just two tracks. Dam told him to pick the songs, the artwork, (that must have been just as hard as picking the song selection, actually) and that he didn't want to see the project until it was complete. And here we are. Dam-Funk, to quote your exquisite poetry, "I Wanna Thank You for (Steppin Into My Life)."

Never Go Pop

Madvillainy is one of the albums that really opened my eyes to how stale and unimaginative a lot of hip hop is. Now, that's not the point of the album, it's more of a side effect. The record is one of the strangest I've ever heard, in any genre. The beats still move, though, and the lyrics contain substance of a sort that I'm sorry to say is rare these days. It's a record that proves that it doesn't have to be the same old thing all the time in the genre of hip hop, even if that's what we're given most of the time.

Not only does this album have my favorite song of all time about getting high ("America's Most Blunted"), it also exposed me for the first time to two of my favorite artists of all time.
Madvillainy is the first and, up until now, only LP-length collaboration between producer Madlib and emcee MF Doom (he of the metal mask and Dr. Doom career motif). Since hearing Madvillainy, I've spent the better part of the last five years tracking down different Madlib projects, side and otherwise. There's his collection of albums of beats, released under the name Beat Konducta (Vol. 3-4, Beat Konducta in India, is particularly good). There's Quasimoto, Madlib's chipmunk-esque psychedelia project. And let's not forget Lootpack, Madlib's more straightforward hip hop group from the late 90's. This really just scratches the surface, and is to say nothing of all the production he does for other artists (Q-Tip and Erykah Badu released songs produced by Mad in the last year). Oh, and he finds time to run a label, Stones Throw, which can hook you up with almost all of this work.

Rumors have been swirling pretty much since Madvillainy came out of a followup collabo. Trying not to get my hopes up, I never really believed it. Doom and Madlib are both constantly dreaming up new, usually codenamed side projects (Doom's Dangerdoom with Dangermouse, or Mad's Jaylib with J. Dilla) to keep themselves busy. Plus, there's also what I'd call the "one album effect," where an album is so much more valuable for not having any others before or after it. Look at the Sex Pistols or Black Star.

Well, I still don't think a followup will ever arrive. But this summer Stones Throw released a sequel of sorts. Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remixes envisions Madvillainy as it would sound if it were produced by... uh... Madlib. Okay, fine, that doesn't make sense, but it doesn't need to. Some people have been calling this a fans-only release, and that's exactly what it comes across as: a small thank you token from Mad to all his loyal fans. This album isn't essential like the original Madvillainy, but it succeeds by being even more nutso than the original and reflecting just what Madlib is into these days. If you want to see if Madlib's production is up your alley, grab Madvillainy, a Quasimoto album (they're all great) or one of his mixtapes. But if you enjoy what Madlib puts out there already, do yourself a favor and grab what amounts to a concept mixtape . You can look at it as a cynical move to sell copies of a throwaway recording, but you'd to much better to see it as Madlib letting the fans in on a private project of his own. Let's hope this starts a trend.

I'll leave you with a classic vid from the original Madvillainy. If you don't want to hear more after this, I don't think you're reading the right blog. "All Caps":