funk ArchivesAmbrosia For Heads

Black Thought Is Continuing His Run With A New Joint Album

In 2022, Black Thought of The Roots teamed with fellow Grammy Award-winner Danger Mouse to release Cheat Codes. The album, named one of the year's best by Ambrosia For Heads, featured Raekwon, MF DOOM, Run The Jewels, A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$, and many more. The LP marked the fourth album... Read more

January 11, 2023 Audio, News

Heavily-Sampled Artist Bernard Wright Has Passed Away At Age 58

UPDATE: Following Bernard Wright's death, Roberta Flack issued a statement. In a tweet that mourned Wright, it confirmed he was the "Killing Me Softly With His Song" singer's godson and former music director. Other sources, including a 1997 New York Times article, had claimed that Wright was Flack's son. Flack... Read more

May 26, 2022 News

The Meters’ Co-Founder Art Neville Has Passed Away At The Age Of 81

Legendary Funk and Soul musician Art Neville has died this morning (July 22). A co-founder of The Meters and The Neville Brothers, the keyboardist and vocalist known as "Poppa Funk" was 81 years old. According to the musician's family, he was in declining health over recent years. "It was peaceful,"... Read more

July 22, 2019 News

Early Hip-Hop Records Sampled James Brown. His 1st Funk Record Sampled Miles Davis.

If the debate for the King of R&B is up for grabs, followers of the late great James Brown can rest easy, as his position among the greatest to ever do it, is secure as a Master padlock. Known indelibly as the “Godfather of Soul Music,” Brown’s career covered successive... Read more

December 31, 2018 Throwback

Del The Funky Homosapien, Domino & Dante Ross Detail The Making Of No Need For Alarm

The cornerstone of Del The Funky Homosapien’s career and artistic identity belongs to his second album, No Need For Alarm. Released 25 years ago last month, the Elektra Records LP may not be remembered as a commercial triumph. However, the record increased the profiles of Del’s Hieroglyphics cohorts, establishing a... Read more

December 2, 2018 Exclusive, Interview

The Internet Keep On Truckin’ With Another Stone Cold Groove (Video)

Riding the mint wave of momentum after the release of Hive Mind, which is the Los Angeles-based Funk/R&B/Soul collective’s fourth studio album, The Internet has dispensed the third set of visuals tied to the freshly unveiled project. Swiftly following up the videos for “Roll (Burbank Funk)” and “Come Over,” “La... Read more

July 24, 2018 Video

Finding The GOAT Group: Brand Nubian vs. Jungle Brothers. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’s annual competition series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups have been pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot will be reserved for a wild-card entry, including the possibility for write-in candidates, to... Read more

June 13, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

50 Years Ago Today, James Brown Healed Hearts With Soul Power (Video)

There may have never been a Hip-Hop Generation if not for James Brown. His music serves as a blueprint for Funk as well as the building blocks of Hip-Hop. Beyond music, Brown proved that the Black community in America is not monolithic in its political affiliation. The timeline of Brown’s... Read more

April 5, 2018 Do Remember

Amy Winehouse’s Found Demo Showcases How Much Soul She Had At 17 (Audio)

When Amy Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning at the age of 27, the music community was shaken to its core after losing one of its boldest vocalists. Early in her short-lived career, the beehive-haired British singer's musical hybrid of R&B, Jazz, retro-Soul and Hip-Hop on her 2003 debut album Frank gained... Read more

February 27, 2018 Audio, Throwback

Scarface & George Clinton Funk It Up For Parliament’s 1st Song In Nearly 40 Years (Audio)

To say George Clinton is a musical mastermind may be putting it lightly. The Funk O.G. is architect to a number of storied groups and unique outlets for his colorful music. On a major scale, the movement began with the Plainfield, New Jersey Doo-Wop product The Parliaments. Then came Funkadelic,... Read more

January 18, 2018 Audio

DMX Performs For The First Time Ever With A Live Band (Video)

Many of DMX's hits had a distinct sound. Especially in his work with Swizz Beatz, X had a synthetic sound that pulled Rap music away from the sample-covers of the late 1990s. While the Yonkers, New York superstar certainly tried his hand at that style too, tracks like "Ruff Ryders... Read more

December 1, 2017 Video

Morris Day & Snoop Dogg Team Up On A Funky New Song & It’s A Players Ball (Audio)

Morris Day is a legend of Funk and R&B that has not done much in the way of Hip-Hop collaboration. Slug & Murs named a song after The Time front-man, and he's been shouted out in legions of lyrics (from D12 to Nas, Wale to Jean Grae). However, short of... Read more

November 24, 2017 Audio

Ghostface Killah’s “Worldwide” Gets An Official Remix Featuring A Soulful Live Band (Audio)

In 2016, Ghostface Killah released video single "Worldwide" with French DJ/producer Wax Tailor. Always prolific, Tony Starks made a song about acquiring stamps in his passport as he kicks science and rugged raps while trotting the globe. Some a la carte singles come and go for any artist, but "Worldwide"... Read more

November 7, 2017 Audio

Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge’s Latest “Yes Lawd” Remix May Be Their Best One (Audio)

There’s such warmth in some music, coming at you like waves. The remix of NxWorries’ “Best One” is one such wave of feel-good energy. Vocalist Anderson .Paak’s usually peppy, highly theatrical style is (almost) subsumed in the Knxledge mix so that it can sometimes be hard to make out the... Read more

October 19, 2017 Audio

Cold 187um Claims Dr. Dre Jacked His G-Funk & Names Songs To Prove It (Audio)

This week, The Defiant Ones docu-series is telling Dr. Dre's story. Twenty-five years ago, the N.W.A. co-founder released his solo debut, The Chronic. The first album on Death Row Records is credited for galvanizing G-Funk, a type of sample-based sound in Gangsta Rap that propelled the sub-genre into the MTV/Top... Read more

July 12, 2017 Audio, Throwback

Bruno Mars Activates The 2017 BET Awards With A Magical Performance (Video)

Bruno Mars opened tonight's (June 25) BET Awards with an exceptionally funky display. The fourth single for 24K Magic remains to be determined. However, Bruno made a strong suggestion when he rocked out "Perm" to open the show. Bruno Mars Meets Grandmaster Flash & The Message Is Golden (Video) With... Read more

June 25, 2017 Video

Big Boi Shows His Boomiverse Is Filled With Space Aged Funk (Audio)

For the last 25 years, Big Boi has been one of Hip-Hop's leading proponents of Funk music. Multiple times, the Outkast co-founder has even worked with "Dr. Funkenstein" himself, Parliament-Funkadelic's George Clinton. Since 2010, stepping into his solo catalog, Daddy Fat Sax struck a hit with some futuristic funking around... Read more

June 13, 2017 Audio

9th Wonder Releases 7 Beats Custom Made For Redman. It’s Time 4 Sum Aksion!! (Audio)

Redman's classic catalog includes some heavy-hitting producers. With a lot of co-production to his credit, Red' made many of his most celebrated hits with Def Squad mentor Erick Sermon. RZA, Pete Rock, Parrish Smith, DJ Scratch, and Rockwilder (who made a critical early appearance on Dare Iz A Darkside) are... Read more

June 1, 2017 Audio, Video

Killer Mike Interviews George Clinton. They Keep It All The Way Funky (Video)

Killer Mike bought and launched the SWAG Shop when his music career was gaining momentum as a retail and real estate investment. Once an admitted hustler, Mike Bigga saw he and his wife's shop as a lasting, legal venture that would also keep him connected to his Atlanta, Georgia community.... Read more

April 25, 2017 Video

“The Funky Drummer” Clyde Stubblefield Has Passed Away

If James Brown is the architect of Hip-Hop, then drummer Clyde Stubblefield may very be his builder. The man Questlove calls "The Funkiest Drummer of All Time" has died today (February 18). He was 73 years old, and passed away from kidney failure. Clyde was an integral part of James... Read more

February 18, 2017 News

Sharon Jones, Lead Singer of The Dap Kings Has Died At Age 60

Sharon Jones, lead singer of Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings has died. Today (November 18), the Augusta, Georgia native passed away from complications surrounding pancreatic cancer at the age of 60. In the last 20 years, Jones not only enjoyed a late surge in her extensive career, the Grammy-nominated... Read more

November 18, 2016 News

Donald Glover Is Making Full Fledged Funk. And There’s Nothing Childish About It (Audio)

Last Thursday (November 10), Childish Gambino unveiled the first look from upcoming album, ...Awaken, My Love (December 2). "Me and Your Mama" set aside the raps for a record that had more in common with Parliament or Lenny Kravitz than any Rap contemporary. Singing, screaming, and embedding himself in a... Read more

November 17, 2016 Audio

Childish Gambino Funks Up Expectations Going Into His New Album (Audio)

Childish Gambino (a/k/a Donald Glover) is a hard artist to pin down or put into any box. He acts, he does stand-up, he DJs, he writes and produces acclaimed shows—most recently evident in Atlanta. However, the breakthrough of Gambino, for many, came by way of music. Thanks to the aforementioned... Read more

November 10, 2016 Audio

Black Thought Fronts A Funky Track That Uses Blues To Motivate (Audio)

The Roots' Black Thought does not do a ton of features, relatively speaking. However, in recent years, when the South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MC puts his vocals on something beyond the circle, he does not seem to play politics. From Thurz ("Riot") to L.A. The Darkman ("Rap Poloticians"), Tariq supports what... Read more

April 15, 2016 Audio

Ice Cube & Kendrick Lamar Keep George Clinton’s Funk Torch LIT (Video)

Even though he is straight out of New Jersey, George Clinton has had a profound impact on West Coast Hip-Hop. The colorful grooves, dynamic showmanship, and heavy bass hits of Parliament, Funkadelic, and Clinton's solo work deeply influenced the music of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, and... Read more

March 24, 2016 Video

This Electro Funk Jam Put The California Love In Tupac’s Classic (Audio)

Certain records beyond Hip-Hop are forever associated with the genre due to their influence upon it. Thanks to 1970s park jams, songs like Jimmy Castor Bunch's "It's Just Begun," Babe Ruth's "The Mexican," and Liquid Liquid's "Cavern" are indelible threads in the fabric of the sound to come. Out West,... Read more

March 10, 2016 Do Remember

Earth Wind & Fire Front Man Maurice White Passes Away

One of Soul, Jazz, and Funk music's most beloved voices and producers has died. Maurice White, co-founder and longtime front man of Earth Wind And Fire passed away last night (February 3), according to his brother (and fellow EWF member) Verdine. The 74 year-old singer died in his sleep. A... Read more

February 4, 2016 News

This Feel-Good Lord Finesse Mix Is The Cure For The Post-Holiday Hangover

Let's face it, the first Monday of the new year can often be a drag. For many, this means (fully) back to work, often some challenging weather, and a long haul to the next reason to celebrate. The all knowing Lord Finesse seems to have forecast such a feeling. The... Read more

January 4, 2016 Mixes

Blu Teams With Lords Of The Underground’s Hit-Makers For A Funky Jam (Audio)

From Madlib to 9th Wonder, Mainframe to DJ Exile, Edan to Flying Lotus, Blu has made his travels musically, teaming with a litany of producers. This time, the Los Angeles, California native links with New Jersey's K-Def. Not exactly a household name producer, the onetime DJ Marley Marl protege has... Read more

September 21, 2015 Audio

Dam-Funk Sells Funk Straight Out The Trunk. Literally (Video)

In an era of software-driven producers, Los Angeles, California's Dam-Funk is about that hardware. Since 1988, the Stones Throw Records artist has made bodacious Funk through a series of synthesizers, cheap and expensive alike. If you see the Snoop Dogg and Blu collaborator on the road, you'll see that he... Read more

September 10, 2015 Video

Dam-Funk’s Disclosure Remix Has Even Wallflowers Finna Get Loose (Audio)

Stones Throw Records is a sonic hot-bed. Whether Madlib, J Dilla, Oh No, or Mayer Hawthorne, Peanut Butter Wolf's imprint hones in some of music's most exciting producers, and gives them free reign. In the current label lineup, Dam-Funk is a standout. For almost a decade, the Southern California mainstay... Read more

September 2, 2015 Audio

The Group Behind One of Hip-Hop’s Most Famous Samples Announces New Music 35 Years Later…

From The Fugees' multi-platinum album The Score to Spike Lee's joints Crooklyn and 25th Hour, Heads have heard Cymande. The British-based Funk band pulled from across oceans, cultures and continents to build a band that would help define the sound of Hip-Hop, thanks to creating some of the most seminal breaks... Read more

August 21, 2015 News

Kenny Dope Rocks All Vinyl, From Fred Wesley & The J.B.’s, To J Dilla To Bob James (Mix)

Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez's name does not come up as often as it should. The Brooklyn, New York producer/DJ is one half of Masters At Work. Also known as Nuyorican Soul, the team of Kenny and "Little" Louie Vega remixed Michael Jackson, Madonna, Tito Puente, and Earth, Wind & Fire. Additionally,... Read more

June 28, 2015 Video

Mayer Hawthorne & Jake One Dress Up A Snoop Dogg Hit With A Funky Tuxedo (Video)

One of the low-key, simply amazing collaborations going on right now is Tuxedo. A duo, the group consists of crossover hit DJ-turned-singer Mayer Hawthorne and Seattle, Washington producer Jake One. For years, Jake Uno has lived in the shadow, regardless of whether he was working with G-Unit or Quannum Projects.... Read more

March 12, 2015 The Bridge

GZA Is Quite Precise In This Feature Role On A Funky Rock Remix (Audio)

Los Angeles, California-based Hanni El Khatib has thrived as a singer-songwriter, licensing his funky, Blues-inspired Rock tracks to campaigns for Nike and Nissan, in addition to shows such as "Suits," "The United States Of Tara," and "Luther." Khatib knows what the people want, in making vibe-driven music. So in remixing... Read more

November 19, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Is Flying Lotus The 2014 Equivalent Of Parliament-Funkadelic? Hear The Latest (Audio)

Based on the upcoming work with Kendrick Lamar alone, chances are Flying Lotus' stock is about to skyrocket. The Los Angeles, California native producer/musician/DJ has put in a decade making music that defied genre limitations, and just thrived off that nod factor. This is true of "Coronus, The Terminator." From... Read more

September 18, 2014 Audio, Fresh

45 King Plays The Classics & The Breaks, Rocking An Hour-Long DJ Set For Boiler Room NYC (Video)

One of the true links in Hip-Hop's chain from the mid-1980s to today is 45 King. Often credited as the founder of the original Flavor Unit, 45 King is also the man responsible for discovering MCs like Queen Latifah, Chill Rob G, and others, all while producing classic material for... Read more

July 27, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

The Beat Junkies’ DJ Rhettmatic Shares His Wedding Mixer Series, Of Family-Friendly Funk (Audio)

Friendly by day, DJ Rhettmatic is nothing nice when he's on the wheels of steel. The Southern California DJ is one of the leaders of The Beat Junkies crew (with J Rocc), and somebody who has worked with J Dilla, Ras Kass, and his other crew, The Visionaries for over... Read more

May 11, 2014 Audio, Fresh, Throwback

James Brown Biopic, Get On Up, In Production, Starring Jill Scott & Produced By Mick Jagger (Video)

Along with Tupac Shakur, N.W.A., and Jimi Hendrix, another musical icon has a biopic in the works. James Brown, The Godfather Of Soul, is the subject of a film, according to "The Today Show" (as shared by egotrip). The film, Get On Up, will star Chadwick Boseman, who played Jackie... Read more

March 13, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

Just Blaze Praises The Super Freak Pied Piper Rick James In This Dope Animated Video Series

Just Blaze gave the music of the late Rick James new life in 2006, when he made comeback track "Kingdom Come" for Jay-Z. Using elements of Rick's "Super Freak," which were already the basis of MC Hammer's smash hit, "U Can't Touch This," Jay had a red carpet re-entrance to... Read more

February 28, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

Big Boi’s Forever Funky, But Check This Mash-Up That Pairs Him With Menahan Street Band (Audio)

For the next stop in his weekly mash-up series from Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumors, Big Boi's "Tremendous Damage" is joined with The Menahan Street Band's "The World (Is Going Up In Flames)." This is Brooklyn-based super-band that laced the "Make The Road By Walking" bassline, famously repurposed for Jay... Read more

February 17, 2014 Audio, Fresh

If you like that West Coast G-Funk sound, this week’s Soul Cooking playlist is for you.

It's no secret legendary beat makers like Dr. Dre and DJ Quik were heavily influenced by the likes of Parliament/Funkadelic, Slave, Cameo, Zapp and Rick James, to name a few...You'll find lots of that classic funk sound on this playlist. Just press play, sit back and prepare to get funked... Read more

April 30, 2011 Audio, Playlists

If you like Outkast’s first album or anything from Death Row Records, check out Ab-Soul’s All Feelin’. It’s a return to the funk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vaerNUTh44 Click here to download. Not feeling the Outkast comparison? Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f5VKdK1c3Q... Read more

September 24, 2010 Audio, The Bridge