Dâm-Funk, supreme ‘Ambassador of Boogie Funk’, is the discerning playa’s producer of choice. The guy is passionate; he ill – he cherishes vintage gear, and unlike Kanye West, knows how to use it. ‘Cos Dâm’s been in the game a long time. He released a mammoth five LPs in 2009, which were abridged and released as Toeachizown. It was hot: a mini-trend of Lakers throwback jerseys in our city of Oxford was directly attributed to this release. Electro-boogie was back and it was bubbling.
So Peanut Butter Wolf, boss of Stones Throw Records, has seen it fit to compile a selection of Dâm’s unreleased work from the late eighties and early nineties. We don’t got vinyl crackle, we got tape hiss – and lots of it. ‘I Like Your Big Azz (Girl)’ is a killer, reflecting the most noble of predilections – that for ass. ‘It’s My Life!’ evokes the moment of the night when you’ve parked the ragtop, you’re blunted but starting to get stimmy, you greet the bouncer and miss out the queue.
The music on the disc may be juvenilia, but it’s still indispensable for all of Oxford’s heads and wannabe-heads. You’ll either get the sound or you won’t. If you want to listen to dubstep or music by white people, you can; but in the back of your mind you will be tortured by the question: ‘How You Gon Fuck Around And Choose A Busta (Over A Real Gangsta)?’.
