Raw Drive- The Vice President of Soul

NANE is the 14th official studio album from Funky DL and this album bleeds “hip-hop” throughout. That may seem a strange thing to say about a hip-hop album by a hip-hop artist, but what is meant is that it seems the intention was to create an album that focuses on the “core” that is hip-hop and not all the sub genre’s and the sometimes tiresome possibilities that come with them.

Although NANE is indeed very musical and has a hint of jazz, it doesn’t carry the in-depth jazz swing of DL’s 2011 effort “Blackcurrent Jazz 2”. But this is what makes it superbly refreshing. The ability for any artist to step away from the style of preceded works is a brave and bold move by any standard. The key in it being executed successfully is for the artist to understand why the departure is necessary and what could creatively come from it.

Napalm:

On Thursday January the 24th, 2008, Funky DL rocked his own full show at the North London famous “Jazz Café” in Camden. During the show, he got on his Akai MPC 2000 drum machine and within a few minutes had knocked up a beat live on stage to which the audience marveled at. It’s recreation sits here in the form of “Napalm”. As mentioned previously, melody has never been absent from DL’s work. His ability to evoke some form of emotion from his musical landscape has never escaped his army of albums. That chemistry is witnessed here on this track with a barrage of rhymes and blissfully sung hook line. But what makes this track ever-the-more so captivating is its ending which blends nicely into the actual audio from the aforementioned live show at the Jazz Café… it’s enough to make you feel like you’re there!

I’m a Beast:

Although quite minimal in it’s sound, the intricacies of “I’m a Beast” are not in limitation. Firstly, DL’s rhyme pattern forms and results in each line rhyming the same rhyme throughout each verse. Not such an easy thing to do when the job is to also keep the wordage relevant. The beat comprises of a two-tone bass-line that flips throughout over a solid drum pattern. This is really a track for those that love “all things MC”, as it captures the essence of hip-hop here at its rawest point on the album. As we all know, there are many producers who have turned to the microphone and vice versa. Some can be noted and praised more overwhelmingly for one talent over the other but, it must be said that Funky DL is effortlessly strong at both, which is what makes his music so listenable to begin with. Quite simply… he is a beast…

The set comprises of 19 head banging beat gems of which 16 are previously unreleased and never before heard. With the lead up to DL’s next full studio album entitled “NANE”, the Funky one takes no prisoners with his discharge of audio catalogue which so far seems to exceed almost any and every artist out there, big or small…

For a man who is not signed to any major or independent label and in contrast runs his own outfit releasing quality product after quality product, the question must be asked, “just how does he manage to do it”… the answer may not be as explanatory as one would like, but nonetheless a simple one … “this my friend, is Funky DL”