Last Night a DJ Saved My Life - King Britt, Cleveland, Michael
When the Funk Hits the Fan
On this first volume of a proposed "autobiography" of his listening career, producer King Britt updates the sound of the black radio of 1970s Philly with 1990s rap and production tricks. He makes sonic references to the sm... more »ooth flow of Gamble and Huff as well as to the drawled proto-rap poetry of the Last Poets, and Britt honors mellow diva disco with a gorgeous, faithful-in-its-fashion cover of "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life." The loops he pulls out of his crates are from a time when black and white pop nourished each other; the album has the deceptively utopian glow of nostalgia, but it radiates with soul and warmth, too. --Douglas Wolk« less
On this first volume of a proposed "autobiography" of his listening career, producer King Britt updates the sound of the black radio of 1970s Philly with 1990s rap and production tricks. He makes sonic references to the smooth flow of Gamble and Huff as well as to the drawled proto-rap poetry of the Last Poets, and Britt honors mellow diva disco with a gorgeous, faithful-in-its-fashion cover of "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life." The loops he pulls out of his crates are from a time when black and white pop nourished each other; the album has the deceptively utopian glow of nostalgia, but it radiates with soul and warmth, too. --Douglas Wolk
"This CD is a gem, it's nothing like the usual stuff you hear. Get it, kick back, and let it take you where it takes you. I mention King Britt to people and they draw a blank. Let them here the CD and they immediatly want to borrow it. You know what I say, "Naw my brother you gotta go out and get your own.""
The last great black ALBUM of the 1990s
BiggO | Baltimore metro area | 05/15/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My title may be extreme to some of you, but I really do feel this way. By the time, this album actually came out, there were countless Maxwell wannabes, D'Angelo had virutally disappeared, and female R&B was being dominated by a skinny, headwrap, wearin' sista from Texas. In all honesty, everyone was starting to sound like everyone else.
If I hadn't stumbled into Tower Records and decided to check this one out on the listening station, I would've never known about this album. It's a great ALBUM...meaning it's great from start to finish. And because this is a "concept" album (an overused term, but anyway...) a film without pictures so to speak, you almost HAVE to listen to the album from start to finish. In all honesty, I owned the album for several months before I learned to appreciate it as a great album.
The song that made me purchase the album was "When the Funk Starts to Swing", a sweet slice of jazz-funk harkening back to the heyday of CTI records. Once I actually started listening to the album in its entirety a realized that every song on this ablum--save one--is a standout cut and has its own identity. The previously mentioned tune is one of my favorites, along with "Jimmy Leans Back", "Gettin' Into It", and "When the Funk Hits the Fan" (a dance-club take on "When the Funk Starts to Swing").
The one weak spot on this otherwise glorious album is "The Reason", which unimaginatively lays vocals over a sample of Boz Scaggs, "Lowdown." The real gem is that you get to hear a clip of King Britt's "original mix" of "The Reason" just before the "lowdown" version starts. The "original mix" can be found on the Sylk 130 "The Reason" EP. Why they didn't use this far more superior version of the song on the album is beyond me. "The Reason" EP is definitely worth seeking out for this song as well as an extended version of "When the Funk Hits the Fan."
Anyway, this snafu not withstanding, this is still THE last great album in black music for the 1990s."
Make Sure To Get The Unedited Version
Professor Booty | Brooklyn, NY | 08/10/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This seems like a great cd but unfortunately my copy is for kids or something and all the "swearing" is swerved out. It's extremely irritating and keeps me from enjoying the tunes. Very disappointing and it doesn't seem to say that it's the "clean" version anywhere on it."
A Great Mix Of Urban Grooves
dOc | Atlanta, GA | 04/18/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This CD was given to me by a person who read some of my CD reviews. I heard the track "When The Funk Hits The Fan" a couple of years ago but never knew who made it. This was a great trade because I'm always in to new underground music and this one is excellent. A touch of acid, funk, and soul cover CD and I'm my ears were blessed by it's sounds. A great CD for collection of good music.oNe"
Funky beats take you back to HS
Karl Becker | Iowa, USA | 06/21/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"You'll remember chillin' on the stoop of your best friend's house in tenth grade, listening to a boombox straining some musical sounds through the air... even if you never did that.The tracks Britt (aka Sylk, it's one in the same) creates here are infused with a deep soul. Male vocals and easy rapping stand tall on some tracks, but there are never any hos or bling-bling in this rap. Female vocals take center stage, and they're a decidedly different feel than the masculine tracks. Very poetic, some deeply sung as if from a smoky jazz club. This is music for people who grew up in the majority of the US, not a scrubbed-up suburb version or the down-and-dirty ghetto place. There are elements of both those here, with a track like Taggin' and Braggin' obviously talking about committing small crime, in this case graffiti. However, most of the issues here are overtaken by the groove: buy this album for its flow. Standout tracks include the aforementioned Taggin', the wonderful, true-to-its-roots "DJ Saved My Life" cover, the super-groovy title track, and a wonderfully-sampled The Reason. Some of the tracks are a little too serious in their poetry, but if you're into that, you'll love it (namely, "A Day in the Life," and "E.R.A"). Break out the beatnik berets and start a-snappin' your fingers.Overall, however, this album is all about a great groove, and it keeps it going on lots of nicely-crafted tracks. A great discovery for those sick of modern rap and something closer to Tribe and De La Soul, but with not as much of a ghetto, street edge."