Blondie – Rapture
Expertly blending pop, hip-hop and disco styles, Blondie’s Rapture was released in January 1981 and was the first rap video to show on MTV. Coming from the album Autoamerican, it...
The Sugarhill Gang – Rapper’s Delight
Famously using Bernard Edwards’ bassline from Chic’s ‘Good times’, The Sugarhill Gang’s ‘Rapper’s Delight’ from 1979 is generally accepted as being the first commercially successful hip hop track. Most of...
Disco, soul & funk mix
Ahead of our sell-out night at the Barnes Home Guard next week, here’s a half-hour mix of disco, funk & soul recorded live at a private party in December 2013....
The Story of Funk: One Nation under a Groove on BBC Four
BBC Four, the home of the best music documentaries bar none, debuted this brilliant hour long film on the birth and development of funk music in the United States on...
Music we love: Erykah Badu – Boogie nights / All night long / Funkin’ for Jamaica
Taken from her double platinum Live album from 1997, this sees the awesome Erykah Badu take three soul & funk standards, and make them entirely her own.
Music we love: Gary Byrd & the GB Experience – The Crown
From July 1983, this was released on 12″ only on Motown. A great, uplifting rap track celebrating black history it was written by Byrd & Stevie Wonder and featured backing...
