Audio Files: Cornelius, James, Riley and Castor

Winston Riley was one of many artists we lost tragically in recent weeks. Excuse me if I make a big deal about it.

Within the past two weeks the musical genres of Funk, Soul, Reggae and R&B lost some notable figures. All figures that were introduced to me at a very young age. Below is a tribute to their music and a few words as to how Etta James, Winston Riley, Don Cornelius and Jimmy Castor -- have all made an impact on my life in some odd way.

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Commercial Break: James Brown...That's All

Some of my dancing friends read this blog, so this one is aimed at them. Last night was a tough night of dancing for me. Muscles are tight. Shoes don't feel quite right. I came home sweaty, tired and a little down. Then I searched previous posts on this very site. 

It wasn't until I remembered a clip nestled deep under the plethora of booty shaking vids and monkeys peeing-in-mouth clips, on Youtube. No matter my thoughts on James Brown -- the person -- I've always thought of him as a creative and [more importantly] diligent artist. His band, The JB's, clearly have so much musical training to follow Brown's ad-libs ... never missing a beat.

This clip...it's kinda what it's all about. Do your best. The rest will work out in the end.

Audio Files: B-Sides Edition [Funk, Psych, Rock, etc]

This segment of Audio Files is dedicated to the sentence, "Yeah, but have you heard this version?" As an aging, and possibly over-the-hill bboy, I've had the privilege to dancing to some strange tunes over the past ten years. The strange thing is, when I stopped dancing and started annoying deejays, that's when these little gems got stuck in my head.

Feel free to contribute some of your favorite b-sides and tunes close to your ears.

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Audio Files: A Tale Of Four Songs

I ain't sayin', but I'm just sayin'.

After watching The Fighter, my ear and interest piqued to this familiar sound. I'm sure you've heard it before. Living in this age of mash-ups, dubstep and the era of more mixtapes and minimal albums -- it's hard to keep tabs on what should be considered an original work. 

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The Brog's Best Album Of 2010: The Bitters "East General"

Play This After A Long Day Of Work

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Commerical Break: Circle Kingz 2010 -- Flo Mo vs. SKMZ Final Battle

How about that DJ? Damn those songs were perfect for a final battle! Props to Flo Mo Crew and Skill Methodz Crew. Two battle-tested crews doing what they do best!

via TEKNYC's Blog

Bboy Battle: Thesis [KHCA] vs. Lancer [Calamities]

I love to give props to well made videos and well thrown events. Props to both Thesis and Lancer. Thesis is clearly on another level as far as flow and the dance as a whole, but look at Lancer! Very technically sound, seen him flub a couple footwork steps, but he rolled with it and really surprised me with how in tune with the music he was.

Part 2 after the jump.

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Funk Music Documentary: Baby Charles, Sharon Jones...err & Grace Jones?

Thanks to the NRK for broadcasting this super-interesting documentary on funk music. Non-Norwegian don't fret, the majority of the documentary is in English. I love Nicole Willis and The Soul Searchers and I never knew Sharon Jones played the piano until now. Enjoy and spread the word.

Things You Should Check out

Music Wise:

I may be late, but I'm at least posting something.  Just in case the 7 of you reading this site didn't know.  My writing skills [or lack thereof] have been being spread at The Start Screen and the Pro Photo Show blogs.  My new favorite site has enlightened me to some new soul and funk music.  I strongly suggest you check out the free audio samples for Baby Charles and Kokolo.

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Bboy Corner: Funky Mason Kingz vs Flo Mo Ghost Masters

This was the semi finals to 2009's Street Star battle on the left are the Funky Mason Kingz of Poland and to the right are Flo Mo Ghost Masters a good mix of Scandinavia's best bboys and bgirls. Even Elmo of Street Masters [USA] was in there