When it comes to modern funk, there is one artist that seamlessly blends classic funk principles with evolving technology and contemporary dancefloor culture. He goes by the name of Dam-Funk and hails from Los Angeles, California. But he is no stranger to New Orleans, as he plays his fourth show in the Crescent City this Sunday, February 2 at Maison on Frenchmen.

With two gigs at One Eyed Jacks and 2012’s show at Tipitina’s now neatly tucked under his belt, it is safe to say that New Orleans digs Dam-Funk. In fact, he may play a more key role in bridging the gap between Meters era big-band funk and today’s rising electronic dance music explosion among Generation Y than even he realizes, especially for the New Orleans scene. With local festivals like the Voodoo Music Experience and now the Buku Music + Art Project rapidly attracting tens of thousands of Millennials each year in New Orleans, there is no question that the divide between acoustic music and electronic instrumentation has been breached.

One of New Orleans’ holiest of music legacies, aside from of course jazz and brass, is funk. Infusing soul music with jazz, original R&B and most importantly, dance rhythms, New Orleans musicians developed some of the earliest forms of the funk. Musicologists often cite New Orleans as the only known region where even its early blues involved complex polyrhythms, unlike the much simpler blues forms of most other places. In other words — New Orleans always that groove, that dance-able funk. Yes, we know how to get down.

Among a myriad of other contributions, keys icon Professor Longhair is credited by many, including Dr. John, for “putting funk in music.” His introduction of Afro-Cuban rhythms into the New Orleans sound of the 1940s and 1950s as the “King of Rumba-Boogie” would prove to become a precursor to the funk birthed in the 1960s by artists like James Brown and Sly Stone. From The Meters to Art “Poppa Funk” Neville and beyond, the late 1960s and 1970s would find New Orleans at the forefront of some of the most influential funk music to go on and become some of the most sampled sounds in seminal hip-hop (see: The Meters’ “Cissy Strut”).

And now, the musical situation appears to have reversed itself, with funk getting imbued back into hip-hop. Whether or not you agree that hip-hop has lost its funk in recent years, one thing is certain: Dam-Funk is humbly breathing a sexy, in-the-pocket groove into the popular 21st century beat scene. Appealing to dubstep party-goers and ’80s electro-funk fans alike, he has officially embarked on some major pop territory with his latest release, 7 Days of Funk. The eight-song album is a collaboration with fellow Los Angelino and famed rapper Snoop Dogg (dubbed Snoopzilla for this project).

Not only does 7 Days revive the glory days of the west coast G-Funk era, it also features cameos from funk superstars like Bootsy Collins and Slave’s Steve Arrington, odes to George Clinton, Parliament-Funkadelic and George Duke a-plenty. Released in December of 2013 on Stones Throw Records in nearly all possible formats (vinyl, cassette, CD and digital), the disc finds Snoopzilla and L.A. MC Kurupt’s familiar rap cadences gliding effortlessly over future funk chords and drums rooted firmly in the dance floor.

Dam-Funk brings this new music to New Orleans Sunday night during a pop-up DJ set with local funk and rare groove queen, DJ Soul Sister, at Maison (508 Frenchmen Street) at 10 p.m. Once again, DJ Soul Sister will warm up the set for her “favorite modern funk DJ and artist.” Dam-Funk is slated to play one of his renowned boogie-funk sets, bringing his “Funkmosphere” to the Maison. Though he won’t have his band in tow for this run, Sunday night’s party at Maison may just prove to be one of Super Bowl Sunday’s funkiest afterparties — or, a solid option for anyone wishing to do music over sports this Sunday night.

The Maison and DJ Soul Sister present Dam-Funk on Sunday, February 2. Doors are at 9 p.m. and tickets are $10 general admission or $15 VIP balcony. For tickets and more information: www.maisonfrenchmen.com

 

OFFBEAT TICKET GIVE-AWAY

OffBeat Magazine is giving away a pair of tickets to the Dam-Funk and DJ Soul Sister party this Sunday, February 2. Simply submit the online form below to enter. Winner will be notified by email and/or text message by 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2 with ticket claim instructions. Good Luck!