Before getting to the Lion's Den to check out the
fresh, local funk group Nappyhead, I stopped to see Kregg Ajamu at the
Wetlands......I needed to order Rhythm Republik's debut CD "Soul
Congregation Rising". Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the Rhythm
Republik CD release party, but I'll be there in spirit!
When I arrived at the Lion's Den at 10:45pm, I
ran into MC Moe, a rapper for Nappyhead who has a wonderful sense of humor. When
I was spotted by Debbie Staton (mother of Funk-Kin's Craig Staton), I was
practically dragged backstage to meet the members of Nappyhead, including the
"funkier than a mosquito ass" drummer Zack Roberson. Zack was really
appreciative of my dedication to the funk groups of the next millenium.
At 11:50pm, Nappyhead took it to the stage,
with a little adaptation to "Chocolate City"....done Nappyhead-style.
"Cholly (Funk Getting Ready to Roll) was the next tune and it was funky as
hell with Zack doing the vocals. The pace was drasticaly changed with the
inclusion of an instrumental version of "Alice in My Fantasies",
where guitarist John Purvis was more than excellent with his extra heavy-duty
metal licks! Nappyhead tackled "Comin' Round The Mountain" with
the catch phrase "Funk Connection For The Year 2000", while Eric
"Boogie" Wilson (of Rhythm Republik) played some smelly funk on his
keyboards. Zack performed singing vocals for "Cosmic Slop", complete
with MC Moe's raps. "Fly on the Wall" is a funky thang that is an
original Nappyhead tune! The group even did a heavily funkified version of
Prince's "When Doves Cry"......damn good cover of it, too! Pat
D'Auria's vocals were superb on the Prince cover, and the bass (provided by
Gary Bordies) was thumpin' like a motherfucker! "Maggot Brain" was
probably the highlight of the show as John Purvis set the Lion's Den ablaze
with an excellent rendition of the legendary Eddie Hazel tune. I was part of a
small group of people that held up candles in memory of the fallen funkateer!
By the way, Rhythm Republik keyboardist, Eric "Boogie" Wilson, sat in
for Darryl Johnson who couldn't be there.
THE ENTIRE SONG SET:
The Nappyhead set ended at 1:00am.
Submit suggestions or comments to david.brooks@brookenstein.com