digables and the state of funk

Chris Ireland (cj2irela@mechanical.watstar.uwaterloo.ca)
Thu, 25 Jan 1996 10:33:26 EST

I only got to skim the article but what I got out of it was that the DP's used
a lot of trendy lingo without any real statement. They just mention the
Panthers and political prisoners and such, the result being that there is no
real statement just a bunch of words being thrown around, eventually
rendering them meaningless. If you ever read any interviews with The Last
Poets, or their remainders, Umar Bin Hassan (?) et al, they say similar things,
that there is no leadership amongst black people (like in the 70's Martin
Luther, Last Poets, Black Panthers). There are a lot of words being thrown
around but no real understanding attached to them. Can the DP's do more, maybe
not?

The post about Gil Scott Heron's 'Revolution...' illustrates the point. Sure
he's just like acid jazz except he really has something to say. I don't think
Gil ever recorded one single song that didn't have something to say. What
happens to him? He's stuck on a compilation that's funkahiphopadelica with a
bunch of other jazz/hip hop artists... rendered meaningless- turns into a guy
saying some cool shit. It reminds me of 'Little Miss Muffett' who comes up to
me at the DJ booth with a huge cutesy smile and says 'Can you play PFunk?'
Sure of course I do.. Pfunk all-stars Pumpin' it Up. She even dances; at the
end of the night she's all pissed off that I never played PFunk? Who knows, I
guess she just wanted to hear one of George Clinton's 'funny' lines.

It's still early, that's my rant.

Chris Ireland

I prefer no lyrics myself.