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| Chuck Brown - 'We're About The Business' Chuck Brown has just finished up work on a new studio album 'We're About The Business", slated for release on April 24th (Raw Venture). His first Go-Go album of primarily original material in over two decades, the album is a is sixteen track party on wax (and CD), and is rightly considered the long awaited follow up to his breakout and 1979 stone classic 'Bustin' Loose.' "Chuck Brown, the founder of D.C.'s indigenous percussion based Go-Go music, is the most influential musician you've never heard of", raved Entertainment Weekly following the 2001 release of his live album 'Your Game...', an invocation that soon proved out of date as the release garnered unprecedented praise from fans and critics nationwide. "Chuck's still Go-Go swinging, still busting 'em loose like the coolest grandfather in the world", said Jeff Chang in the Village Voice, and the Washington Post said "The President should start thinking about proclaiming this the year of Chuck Brown, because that's what it's shaping up to be." Alongside praise in concert -- "watching Brown and his Soul Searchers is like participating in a timeline of groove...a steamrolling revue that charges from song to sing-along jam without a break", said Tom Moon in the Philadelphia Inquirer -- his reputation among DJ's, hip-hop heads, and fellow performers continued apace. Nelly based his smash "Hot In Herre" over a swinging Go-Go backbeat and hook borrowed from 'Bustin' Loose, ' with Chuck providing the underpinning for the summer jam of 2002. On the new release Chuck opens with a staple of recent live shows -- an adaptation of the theme from "The Godfather" -- but soon gets down to 'Business' with the new instant classic "Block Party" and the loping rhythmic jam "Chuck Baby", the latter featuring guest vocals by Chuck's daughter KK. The album's contenders for quintessential all night jam are many, but "The Party Roll" may be the standout, with Chuck singing "All you gotta do is let me set the mood for you... Chucky baby's got a brand new groove for you." In an era where nearly every niche market seems mined to within an inch of its life, Go Go is possibly the only true regional music scene left in America, and Chuck Brown is its Godfather, credited with inventing the unique mix of latin style percussion, "paint-bucket" street corner rhythms and American jazz and soul all laid over the top of an unrelenting Funk groove. Presiding over a bona-fide phenomenon that's spawned acclaimed proteges including Trouble Funk, E.U., and the Junkyard Band, Chuck Brown still lays down three hour plus, literally non-stop sets that draw thousands of fans of all ages to regular weekly engagements in the D.C. area, and Go-Go is a regular fixture on large local stations such at WPGC and WKYS. 'We're About The Business" was produced by Chucky Thompson, the D.C. based producer behind major hits including "Big Poppa" by Notorious B.I.G., and Mary J. Blige's 'My Life, ' as well as countless tracks for artists including Nas, Faith Evans, and Busta Rhymes. Chuck is planning a series of events for the Spring and summer, including major release week activities in D.C., as well as a sneak preview show on April 19th at New York's Joe's Pub, with plans for other national dates in the works. Also, the D.C. lottery will be featuring "The Party Roll" in a major TV and radio campaign in April, and BET will dedicate an episode of its acclaimed series "Timeless" to Chuck, slated for March air. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |