User:East718/LA

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 THIS IS A SANDBOX, PLEASE DON'T TOUCH IT. THE WRITER OF THIS ARTICLE WORKS QUITE ERRATICALLY AND HAS A TERRIBLE TEMPER. IF YOU GO MESSING AROUND HERE, HE JUST MAY DELETE YOU.
NOTE TO SELF: FIX THE SOUND FILE, AND UNCOMMENT THE CATS
TO DO: ENTIRE RIGHT COLUMN OF FUNK; MORE ABOUT INDIVIDUAL ALBUMS; HISTORY POST-1975
Lafayette Afro Rock Band
Image:Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Afon.png
Lafayette Afro Rock Band in 1978
Background information
Also known as Bobby Boy Congress
Ice
Captain Dax
Crispy and Co.
Origin Paris, France
Genre(s) Funk rock, jazz, disco
Years active 1970-1978
Label(s) America (1972)
Musidisc (1973)
Makossa (1974-1977)
Superclasse (1978)
Associated acts Mal Waldron
Sunnyland Slim
Former members
Bobby Boy (vocals)
Larry Jones (acoustic guitar)
Michael McEwan (acoustic guitar)
Lafayette Hudson (bass guitar)
Frank Abel (keyboard)
Ronnie James Buttacavoli (horns)
Ernest "Donny" Donable (drums)
Keno Speller (percussion)
Arthur Young (horns, percussion)
Music sample
"Darkest Light"
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Lafayette Afro Rock Band was a French funk rock band formed in Long Island, New York in 1970. They are most notable for their songs "Hihache" and "Darkest Light", which have been sampled in numerous hip-hop compositions, leading to their current status as a niche outfit admired for its break beats.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

The Lafayette Afro Rock Band was formed as the Bobby Boy Congress in 1970, in homage to their original vocalist Bobby Boy.[2] Upon deciding that the funk scene in the United States was too saturated for them to viably compete in, they relocated to France in 1971; with Bobby Boy splitting from the group to pursue a musical career in America, they renamed themselves to Ice.[3] After regular performances in Paris' Barbès district—an area made up primarily of North African immigrants—they caught the eye of producer Pierre Jaubert and became the house session band at his Parisound studio.[4] The influence of their surroundings led Ice to increasingly weave African rhyme schemes, textures, and beat tendencies in their original funk style, and as such they changed their name to Lafayette Afro Rock Band following the 1972 release of Each Man Makes His Own Destiny.[2]

In 1974, Lafayette Afro Rock band replaced guitarist Larry Jones with Michael McEwan and released Soul Makossa (released in the U.S. as Movin' and Groovin').[2] Despite the LP failing to chart, it made sufficient impact that its standout song, the oft-covered "Hihache", was sampled regularly for over 20 years by artists as diverse as Janet Jackson, Biz Markie, LL Cool J, De La Soul, Digital Underground, Naughty by Nature, and the Wu-Tang Clan.[2][3] Lafayette Afro Rock Band's followup effort, the 1975 LP Malik, met equal enduring success, with a modified horn and saxophone sample of "Darkest Light" being featured prominently in Public Enemy's "Show 'Em Whatcha Got".[5] After Public Enemy's usage of the song was highly praised,[1] samples of "Darkest Light" backed numerous culturally significant songs, including the multi-platinum 1992 single "Rump Shaker" by new jack group Wreckx-n-Effect[6] and rapper Jay-Z's 2006 single "Show Me What You Got".[7]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

  • Each Man Makes His Own Destiny (1972, as Ice)
  • Soul Makossa (1974)
  • Malik (1975)
  • Frisco Disco (1976, as Ice)[2]
  • Afro Agban (1977, as Ice)[2]
  • Afon: Ten Unreleased Afro Funk Recordings (1978)[2]

[edit] Singles

  • Dr. Beezar, Soul Frankenstein (1976, as Captain Dax)[4]
  • Funky Flavored (1978, as Crispy and Co.)[4]

[edit] Compilations

  • Darkest Light: The Best of (1999)[8]

[edit] Selected samples

Song Sampling recording[2]
"Hihache" (1974)
"Darkest Light" (1975)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Frere-Jones, Sasha (October 30, 2006). "Top Down; Pop Notes". The New Yorker 82 (35): 22. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Thompson, Dave (2001). Funk. Backbeat Books, 156-157. ISBN 0879306297. 
  3. ^ a b Crazy Horse, Kandia (2004). Rip It Up: The Black Experience in Rock'n'roll. Macmillan, 209. ISBN 140396243X. 
  4. ^ a b c Ankeny, Jason. Lafayette Afro Rock Band: Biography. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  5. ^ Wang, Oliver (2003). Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide. ECW Press, 138. ISBN 1550225618. 
  6. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (May 3, 2007). On the Continuing Resonance of "Rump Shaker". The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  7. ^ Dolan, Casey. "Downloads", Los Angeles Times, October 21, 2006, pp. E8. 
  8. ^ Booth, Daniel. "Darkest Light: The Best of the Lafayette Afro-Rock Band", Melody Maker, October 2, 1999, pp. 39. 
  9. ^ a b Garrity, Brian (November 25, 2006). "Same Sample, Different Ditty". Billboard 118 (47): 9. 
  10. ^ Endelman, Michael (December 1, 2006). "Executive Suite". Entertainment Weekly (909): 81. 

[edit] External links