Some rarely heard good ol' early 80s funk (J. Walter Negro & The Loose Jointz)

[Clarky]

Great song from my youth that I haven't heard in years and googled to find it, to my surprise. Fab bass and guitars

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XxF4WPh3ME

[Mark_Bass]

Nice track
Awesome name - I wonder if a new band could get away with a name like that these days?

[Clarky]

In case anyone interested, I found this info about J Walter. Pretty sad story involving NYC hiphop scene, Basquiat, and crack/cocaine addiction:


The late J Walter Negro (real name[b] Marc Andre Edmonds)[/b] of African American and Cherokee descent is an unsung hero of hiphop and the New York downtown Art and music scene of the very early 80′s
The success of the talented but troubled artist was cut short when the minor hit “Shoot The Pump” failed to gain momentum and came to a grinding leading to the group splitting due to J Walter Negro’s drug abuse (Negro, fell victim of the 1st epidemic of crack addiction that hit NYC), and gross mismanagement .
The footage showcases the Loosejointz raw Funk, Reggae, Jazz, Latin and true school hiphop infuences, along with Negro’s genius lyrical dexterity, and early rap star quality which was cut short before its prime.
[b]Jean-Michel Basquiat [/b]the celebrated artist often guested with the Loose Jointz as most of the band knew him from their highschool days
Negro aka, pioneer graffit artist [b]ALI[/b] ( part of a crew named the soul artists, with the likes of [b]Futura[/b] and[b]Dondi White[/b]) suffered a serious accident while out on a tagging run with [b]Futura 2000[/b], he was severley burned in the tunnels of 137 street. NYC in the early 80′s. His face recieved minor burnes but is arms and hands were badly burned.
J Walter Negro and the Loose Jointz never released an album, even though an album was actually recorded, the bands music and along with album advance dissapeared with the groups then manager John Moore.
The Loosejointz way ahead ecelectic approach and mixed appeal is felt in the performance, touching on the UB40esque reggae\spiritual Jazz feel of the opening song to the Cherokee chanting and fuzz funk boogie, of the rap song [i]52 Cars[/i].
J Walter Negro’s lyrical genius shines inthe performances in this footage, rapping and singing his political and socially conscious rhymes, playfully name dropping [b]Fab Five Freddie[/b], [b]Dondi White[/b] and[b]Blondie[/b], incorperating some of her ‘[i]Rapture[/i]‘ raps into a verse.
The Loose Jointz not to be confused with the [b]Loose joints [/b]on the[b] Westend [/b]record lable, had the energy, the music, and the mystique of J Walter Negro, a frontman way ahead of his time, to easily have reached universal legendary status. J Walter Negro died in the 90′s due to cocaine addiction.

[BetaFunk]

Bought that 12" the day it was available as an import as it was a much anticipated release at a time for those into that sort of music when with no internet you only heard rumours and (if you were lucky) press releases.
I bought this before hearing it at a specialist dance and soul record shop and couldn't wait to get it home to give it a spin and it's still one of my favourites from that era.

Edited April 20, 2013 by BetaFunk