Rickey Vincent – My favorite funk albums of the 2000’s

Rickey Vincent, the funk guru, author, radio DJ and much more, has been kind enough to let us publish his own personal list of favorite releases from the past ten years and it’s a great read, so dig in and have fun!

Written by Rickey Vincent

Since it is almost the end of the year and end of the decade, I thought I would put together my top ten list of the best funk albums of the past ten years.

Things quickly got so messy I just settled on a dozen of my favorites.

Since so much of our music comes from all angles nowadays, other funkateers could have a list with a dozen other completely different discs. Only two well known albums even made my backup list, and that was “Stankonia” by Outkast and Beyonce’s “Dangerously In Love”. I can’t think of any other hit record (maybe “speakerbox/the love below”) that would get near this list of mine. Too many of my favorite contemporary artists, like Erykah Badu and Michael Franti just didn’t come with complete albums. Yes the industry is collapsing, but good music is still there and the great artists should be able to deliver great albums at least once in a while.

Most of my choices are from former P-Funk members and P-Funk clones, but there are a few very original originals.

Here is my criteria for a great or ‘classic’ funk album:

1. Total listenability – can be played nonstop throughout. Too many CD’s have a few hot jams but you CANT play it through.
2. Some elevated genius funk – something, anything that breaks the jam factors out.
3. Raw Party Jam – some danceable party favors that take U past your conscious mind & your reptilian brain takes over.
4. Staying power. Gets played as often now as it did when it came out.

The best ones do all of the above:

Dodge – “Star Bass Invasion” (JJ-Tracks 2004)   This is uncut, nonstop heavy throb funk, from the first to the last track. Bootsy is on one cut, Jara Harris of Slapbak on another but Dodge needs no help. He clearly has made the funk attack blowout of the decade. Just deal with “National Funkday”, “Mutron Bomb” or “Headache” and you’ll understand.
Maktub – “Kronos” (Velour 2003)   This is so soulful, the band so ripping, that it set a new standard of future music for me. There is some heavy grooving like Galactic, some strong vocals from Mike Watts that invoke Hootie & the Blowfish, and some killer power rock riffs, but this set has an uncompromising sound all its own.
Prince – “3121″ (Umvd 2006)   The rude one finally gave up on the weak social commentary, the religious rants, and the self-absorbed efforts to revisit his Purple Rain era peak, and just ripped the jams on this mix from front to back. A nonstop party from one of the world’s best.
Bootsy Collins – “Christmas is 4 Ever” (Shout Factory 2006)   A throbasonic Rubber Band style blowout of classic proportions. The most inspired Bootsy since the 70’s. One drag is the seasonal theme, and the fact that the there is an undercurrent of sad nostalgia behind the brilliant nonsense here.
Junie Morrison – “When The City” (Junie Morrison Recordings 2005)   Nothing but the most inspired, lunatic fringe genius funk from this all timer. Every track slithers and wiggles like you would expect from Junie, and some are supremely advanced. You gotta go to the website juniemorrison.com and pick it up but if U R a funkateer you will make the move. It is worth every slippery penny. “Friends” and “Robot Love” are beyond advanced.
Amp Fiddler – “Afro Strut” (Genuine 2006)   Amp comes full circle, finally overtaking his contemporaries like Raphael Saadiq, and forging his own modern hip style of funky soul. Far removed from P-Funk but still deep in the DNA at the same time. Luscious.
Dawn Silva – “All My Funky Friends” (Groovin’ Records 2000)   Dawn blew minds and bootys when she dropped this non-stop zapp-a-delic dance affair in 2000. She was truly On The One with this club funk monster session. It still holds up 9 years later.
Mudbone – “Fresh Mud” (Influx Music 2006)   The former Bootsy’s Rubber Band singer sounds like a cross between Bobby Womack and Andre 3000 doing deep groove soul. Mudbone is in his element as one of the worlds greatest funk singers on an album of soulful R&B and rock that is transcendent at almost every turn. It is available as an import and worth absolutely every penny.
P.C. Munoz – “California” (Beevine Records 2004)   Easily the most original set I’ve heard recently. Somewhere between hip hop attitude, Minneapolis nasty and latin rock playa chops, P.C. Munoz has an instantly compelling sound that defies definition and continues through the entire diverse record. Look him up on myspace and listen and you’ll see.
The Coup – “Party Music” (Tommy Boy 2001/Epitaph 2004)   Everything conscious hip hop and funk were heading toward comes alive in Boots Riley’s masterpiece. Musically it is the west coast Outkast, and lyrically Boots is the Huey Newton of hip hop. The P-Funk loops on “Ride the Fence” and “5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO” are nutz, and the thump on “Pork and Beef” and “Lazymuthafucka” is thunderous.
Paris – “Sonic Jihad” (Guerilla Funk 2003)   If Boots is the Huey Newton of hip hop then Paris is the Eldridge Cleaver of hip hop – uncut fire breathing threats to the power structure delivered with pristine P-funk hip hop chops. An incredible session.
Bootsy Collins – “Play With Bootsy” (Thump 2004)   If it weren’t for the opening track, a lukewarm ramble, this album would stand out as one of Zilla’s best. Boot takes things everywhere with all his funky friends, once he gets going. I was told Boot was trying to get the P-Funk reunion jam session from one of those Nike ads he was doing, but it fell thru. Put that “funkship” long version on there and Bootsy is #1 again.
Slapbak – “Fast Food Funkateers 2nd Edition a.k.a. Ghetto Funkography” (Toxic Funk 2004)   These fools just keep the heat on every time they record a set. Slapbak belongs to the vicious groove funk school, where bridges aren’t necessary, just riffs. Sometimes it gets tired, but this time everything works. Handed to me as “Fast Food Funkateers 2nd Edition” the disc was re-released as “Ghetto Funkography” a couple of years later. This is their best session either way. Don’t sleep on Slapbak.
Zootzilla – “P’n All Over Da Place” (Flamoneous Records 2004)   One of the best of the funk clone sessions. Lead zinger Zootzilla is a hilarious, stanky nastay Clinton clone, and the country-funk of Phil Jones and Dave-id K-os hits the right spot. Just deal with “Hot Spank, Pimp Stew and Monkey Woo”, “Pussy Foot” or “Woof Whistles and Cat Calls” featuring Mike Hampton and you’ll understand.
P-Theory – “From The Hood To The Wood” (2006)   A bizarre collaboration is actually the most authentic Funkadelic-ism of the 2000’s. Deep, hard and out, Kevin Goins channels Plainfield soul through some European musicians that just bring the stank. Only some awkward spoken word vamps that break the spell take this massive set down to the bottom of the list.

Funkee honorable mentions

Michael Franti & Spearhead – “Everyone Deserves Music” (2003)   Franti is the most righteous artist out there, but like KRS-One, being righteous doesn’t always mean producing a record that can be listened to throughout. This is Franti’s most coherent vision, most heartfelt songs and most consistently listenable album.
Maceo – “School’s In” (2005)   This is Maceo’s groovin’est recent session, that is also thematically linked throughout. If you are into Maceo’s modern stuff, this is a great funky blast. As usual, Maceo doesn’t take many chances, but he always delivers a good time.
Roy Hargrove – “Distractions” (2006)   One of the only true jazzers that understands funk and jazz can live on the same album. Lots of trippy turns, Miles Davis tones, and thunderous bounce. Some Roy Ayers – style smooth grooves don’t stop the funk of it all. Hargrove’s earlier “Hard Groove” was just too mellow & uneven to call a giant of the decade.

I also should mention the great new music this decade from Joi, Steve Arrington, Charles Wright, Lonnie Jordan, Burnt Sugar, Shock G, Zigaboo Modeliste, and the last release from James Brown in 2002 “The Next Step”

+ some double CD’s that rock but rarely get played all the way through:

420 Funk Mob – “Live on the Off Days”: Just a teaser of what the king of the P-Funk spinoff bands does on a regular basis. I got their live tape of the SF show that is even thicker.

Tom Tom Club – “Live at the Clubhouse”: Some of this is massive P-Funk quality underground elevation. Some of it is jam band gibberish.

Victor Wooten – “Live in America”: The man is nutz, but 2CD’s worth starts to grate instead of elevate.

So what did I miss?