Not exactly sure what the above is supposed to mean, but every time I hear "Cantaloop" by Us3 it's damned near impossible not to put on my dancing shoes, even if they, uh, don't really work all that well.
Jazz-rap (and how often do you hear those two genres used in cojunction) group Us3 was formed in 1992 in London by producer Geoff Wilkinson, who has remained the lone original member for better than twenty years now. Backed by various musicians, vocalists, and rappers, the band has released nine albums throughout its existence, though most of their fan base and what little commercial success they've had has been overseas. Their album Hand on the Torch is the only one that charted in the U.S., and "Cantaloop is their only top 40 hit here as well, peaking at #9 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100. As always, if you're going to only have one hit, might as well make it a good one.
"Cantaloop" samples Jazz great Herbie Hancock's 1964 song "Cantaloupe Island" (I'm hardly a Jazz connoisseur, but it's a real nice cut) which features the funkiest piano playing I've ever heard accompanied by a thumping bass and drums which gives it its underlying funkmaster groove. Add in some well punctuated trumpeting (it's actually a cornet, but who the hell knows what a cornet is?) and you have a soundtrack for even the most rhythmically challenged, such as myself. What Us3 adds to it are some of the funnest lyrics you'll hear, rapped in an understated fashion in three different verses each of which is separated by more cornet playing and spliced with the line "Diddly-diddly bop, diddly-diddly bop, Funky, Funky!" Not going to make anyone forget the word styling of T. S. Eliot., but guaranteed to put a smile on your face--and "Cantaloop" isn't the kind of song to inspire you to cure cancer, but it will get you to shake your booty and there ain't nothin' wrong with that.
Rap sheet: "Brace yourself as the beat hits ya/Dip trip flip fantasia...."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
Can't tell if you're being sarcastic (I think it needs it's own font or something), but jazz and rap go together like... Well, if I were better at metaphor, I'd be a rapper. However, from A Tribe Called Quest to Kendrick Lamar, jazz and rap have been connected for decades. And what a wonderful combo. They may not all be as catchy as the above track, but damn if I don't love it.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't being sarcastic--I probably wasn't clear in my writing (grrrr) but what I meant was if someone says "Heavy Metal" one can think of a hundred bands that fit the genre. Not that many bands/artists fall under the jazz rap umbrella which (at least to me)makes Us3 even cooler.
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