Positive Funk: We Got the Funk
Underappreciated disco-funk gem from 1979 is rediscovered
Uncredited work as background ambiance on Sugar Hill Gang’s golden classic “Rapper’s Delight” may be Positive Funk’s biggest achievement, but “We Got the Funk,” a single that went virtually nowhere in the States and swept under the dance-disco rug in 1979, remains their finest highlight. After being discovered by label owner Nate Edmonds, Positive Funk tried to release consecutive singles but never got their just reward. The UK did pick up the eight-piece funk/soul group to appear on Top of the Pops in the early ’80’s, but their career quickly dissolved afterwards. Such a tragedy since “We Got the Funk” owns the groovy, funky get-down nirvana that elevates disco beyond its dangerous misinterpretations. Although lead singers Brenda Reynolds and Vickie Drayton summon you to the dance floor from the beginning (“We’ve got a funk that you can dance to/We don’t mind if you choose not to”), the boogie does all the work for them. Courtesy of YouTube’s vinyl junkie Slayd5K, the 12″ inch single is excavated from the priceless collection of disco’s forefathers.
J MATTHEW COBB
