Funk Aid for Africa

By Muema for bouncefm.com

06.22.09

A CERTIFIED BANGER!

Dubspot premiere’s its charitable mix CD series with FUNK AID FOR AFRICA. In the spirit and tradition of Fela, this 20 track mixed CD is an absolute delight. FIST OF FLOWERS with its West African percussion and magical horn section will motivate the dancers. Hold up your cigarette lighters with me. Another hot track to check for is SABROSO by Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra. FUNK AID FOR AFRICA celebrates FUNK in all its forms.

INA FUNKY DUB shines with a reggae inspired funky dub that’ll make you scream out “Ya mon!” CONTRA EL SOL is an excellent example of when funk hits hip hop, can you feel it, son?! The piece de resistance of the album is JUNGLE STRUTTIN’, pure Afro Funk in the highest form – it’s time to break out your dashikis! Finally for a slammin’ hip hop funk extravaganza, check A WALK IN BROKEN SHADE featuring Afra Behn, nod your head to this!

FUNK AID FOR AFRICA, 5 star music for a worthy cause.

This CD gets the BounceFM quality seal of approval.

“Pimps of Joytime" Album Review

Reviews for Dj OBaH remix of Nina Simone's tune, ‘Four Women’

Nina Simone gets the Bstrd Boots treatment and it's a winner for sure. DJ Obah's recycled Funk Mix of "Four Women" pitched the amazing Nina against a languid lead guitar and a laid back easy funk groove. Over on side-B P&S Passive Restraint Mix of "Come Ye" is once again a laid back affair with a lazy conga break wobbling along behind the timeless voice. Two nice versions, shame it isn't summer because these would work at your BBQ.
– piccadillyrecords.com

Hot on the heels of the very popular Stevie Wonder-oriented BSTRD Boots 7" Nugget #1, comes a second "tribute" nugget, this time to legendary songstress Nina Simone. Both mixes keep it real, moody, & close to a "live off the floor" vibe. Recycled Funk Radio's DJ Obah lays it all on the line with his treatment of "4 Women" but all the candy does not distract from this stirring tribute. On the flip the Peabody & Sherman strip down for "Come Ye", on the more spiritual side.
– fatcity.co.uk

The BSTRD BOOTS 7" series continues with this followup to the STEVIE WONDER remix. This time jazz/soul legend NINA SIMONE gets reworked. RECYCLED FUNK RADIO's DJ OBAH reworks "FOUR WOMEN" into drum-heavy downtempo on the A while PEABODY & SHERMAN strip down "COME YE" to sublime effect on the B.
– groovedis.com

Two juicy joints from Nina flipped in exquisite fashion on this second 7" from the BSTRD Boots series. DJ Obah's Recycled Funk Remix of "Four Women(1)" has just enough boom bap and jazzy instrumentation to make any place feel like a cool smokey lounge. Watch for Nina's explosive vocals at the climax of the song. Beautiful, powerful stuff. The Peabody & Sherman's Passive Restraint mix of "Come Ye(2)" takes the flip and continues the vibe. The track is a slow burn with minimal drums (pretty much just woodblock!) and a walking bass that maintains emphasis on Nina's amazing voice. Both sides play at 33.
– snackmaster/turntable lab

Funk Aid For Africa
by Brian Callaghan
EDGE PUBLICATIONS Contributor
Tuesday Jun 9, 2009


Many charity records have their hearts in the right place, but aren’t a hell of a lot of fun to listen to.

Oftentimes, they’re oddball collections of mediocre B-sides from well-known artists thrown together to aid one cause or another but don’t work well as an album you’d want to spend a solid hour listening to.

The new Funk Aid for Africa is an exception to this rule. While it doesn’t feature any household name artists, it features 20 soul, funk and Latin songs that mesh well together.

The Funk Aid project was put together by dubSpot, an electronic music production and DJ training institute in New York. It’s a hell of a lot of fun to listen to or just have playing in the background and the songs fit well together.

The album kicks off with Ocote Soul Sounds’ song, "Contra El Sol," which is a hypnotic electronic funk piece.

The second song, "High Steppin" by The Lions sounds like a great 70s soul instrumental with trumpets and playful guitar and bass lines. It could have been on the soundtrack of the original Shaft movie.

"San Francisco Bound," by The Pimps of Joytime sounds like a funky song by an all-black version of the Village People. J Boogie’s Dubtronic Science performs the sultry soul number "Together" with Jennifer Johns providing lead vocals.

The project was put together by Dan Giove, the founder of dubSpot, and DJ OBah as a fundraiser to benefit the L.A.-based humanitarian organization, NextAid, which assists AIDS orphans in Africa.

"Pasado Pisado" is a light Brazilian-inflected song by Dario Boente and Huge in Japan that’s reminiscent of the bossa nova songs of Gilberto Gill and Astrid Gilberto. Amayo’s Fu-Arkist-Ra’s "Fist of Flowers" is a bloated eight-minute song that gets old rather quickly. It’s one of the disc’s few misses.

All of the songs blend into the next, keeping the mood and party going from one tune to the next.

"Mi Sonsito" by Ticklah with Mayra Vega is a jerky, jazzy Latin number sung in Spanish that’s a lot of fun, as is Ursula Rucker’s "Electric Santeria" which sounds more like a conventional electronic dance track, but with Brazilian percussion.

"Making a mark on hip-hop"
Written by: Keter Tzadik of ImageEYEnation
Published 5/01

The internet really is a powerful tool for finding new and exciting talent. Why, just the other day I happened to come across Incks, a skilled emcee from the jungles of Brooklyn, New York through an email that was forwarded to me. Thanks to that email and the link it contained I was able to peep an mp3 of one of her joints. Impressed as I was. I dropped sis an email and she was happy enough to send me a cassette of some shit she's been working on. After listening to what she has in store, I must say that Incks is someone to watch for. The demo started off nicely with the thumping Push. Sporting a seriously thick bass line, some soulful Curtis Mayfield sounding guitar chords and chunky drum programming, Push sees Incks declaring herself "a black woman, pushing in many directions with very very strong maxims" and talking about the positive and negative forms of pushing and shoving we experience in life. Next up, the bass heavy, jazzy chimed electric piano flavored track Here My Dear booms through the speakers and Incks takes the opportunity to speak on the "troublesome outcome of hip hop" with lines that berate artists for their lackluster output and fans for caring more about performers clothes and jewelry than their artistic abilities. Also included was the track I had previously heard, Jungle, a morality tale about life on the streets of Flatbush, Brooklyn. Incks drops jewels for the females who mistake the lust of drug and alcohol abusing wanna-be thugs for love and paints a realistic picture of ghetto life wich is something that has been missing among the bling bling and project chick anthems that litter the current hip-hop landscape. Incks and her producer OBaH are the kind of artist that still make hip-hop records like they did in the early 90's. The thick production and intelligent street rhymes they exhibit here are something is all to rare and solely missed by heads like myself. Whether they choose to drop some shit independently or manage to get picked up by a label, whatever they release is sure to be worth the attention, time and money of those of us who love hip-hop as much as they obviously do.

"Push EP"
Written by: Gida Snyder of Mugshot Magazine
Published '02 vol 2 issue 3

MC Incks elevates the caliber of do-it-yourself Hip-Hop. Raised in the carnival atmosphere of East Flatbush, New York, Incks, also known as Cindy Leacock, grew up immersed in the sounds of calypso, soca, 60's rhythm & blues and the jazz driven beats of late 80's Hip-Hop. Writing rhymes since the seventh grade, Incks only began venturing to open mics in the year 2000. Quickly outgrowing Wetlands and The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Incks soon teamed up with producer and friend DJ O.B.A.H.(Oldskool Beats And Harmonies) and conceptualized Earmax Records, a brooklyn based indepedent label, in 2001.

Incks single "jungle" was released on the Okayplayers Compilation, shining next to tracks by underground notables Afronaut and Belgian producer Krewcial among others. Garnering international exposure for her single "How Clever", Incks was featured on the playlist of a Belgian Internet radio station for a three-week stint. Her flow is smooth and direct, slighlty reminiscent of a young Lauryn Hill. On Push, a four-track EP, both lyrics and production effervesce. DJ O.B.A.H.'s style reflects an evolution of early 90's Hip-Hop, an appropriate match for Incks, a talented up-and-coming MC who understands the importance of "industry rule number 4080...." and has taken matters into her own hands.

"Flatbush Emcee a Step Above"
Written by: Carl Chery of Kingsman Press
Published 4/02

There was a time when female emcees where a rarity. Fortunately, pioneers such as Roxanne Shante, Queen Latifah and MC lyte have paved the way for estrogen to be recognized in a male dominated industry. Unfortunately, too many of today's female rappers have opted to trade self respect for platinum sales in a rap world already saturated with testosterone and misogyny. Yet, hope is still alive in the form of Incks, a Flatbush emcee whose lyrical content is immersed in awareness and knowledge o self.Backed with solid production from partner in crime Dj OBaH (Oldskool Beats and Harmonies), Incks delivers a thought provoking four-track EP addressing issues dealing with the streets as well as the state of hip-hop.

The project opens with "Push It," an ode to progression that sets the tone for the opus journey. On "Jungle"," a track that was also featured on the Okayplayer underground compilation, Incks paints a vivid picture of an urban landscape flooded with drama. The commentary serves as advice for lost souls, especially women to whom Incks counsels. "In the jungle close your legs and open your eyes," she said. "How Clever," perhaps the EP's standout, features D.R.O. as well as jazzy production from Japanese beatmaker Yugi Noto, Incks praises cleverness over Noto's heavenly piano chops that could give Pete Rock a run for his money. The EP concludes with "Hear my dear (troublesome outcome)," a track on which a noticeably angered Incks takes a stab at hip-hop's deteriorating state. She once again strives to awaken the mind by spitting: "This ain't a song for me to wast so why cut and paste / When I can add spice for taste / Which is, what you hear before your face / The aim to pick your brain up a pace so come on join the race,"

With this EP, Incks proves that she's a force to reckoned within the underground and has the ability to flow in the mainstream.