''Funke, Funke Wisdom'' is the fourth solo studio album by American recording artist

Kool Moe Dee Mohandas Dewese (born August 8, 1962), better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, writer and actor. Considered one of the forerunners of the new jack swing sound in hip hop, he gained fame in the 1980s as a member of one ...

from the

Treacherous Three The Treacherous Three was a pioneering American hip hop group that was formed in 1978 and consisted of DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee (who left in the late 1970s), with occasional contributions from DJ ...

. It was released in 1991 via Jive Records, making it the rapper's final album on the label.

Background

Production of the record was handled by

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the New Jack Swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.Hogan, Paul. "Tedd ...

, Dale Hogan, Keith Spencer and Kool Moe Dee. The album peaked at #72 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...

and #19 on

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

. It spawned three singles: "How Kool Can One Black Man Be", "Death Blow" and "Rise 'N' Shine". "Rise 'N' Shine" featuring KRS-One & Chuck D became the most successful single, reaching number one on the

Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...

chart. "How Kool Can One Black Man Be" peaked at #9 on Hot Rap Songs and #49 on

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. The track "Death Blow", a diss track directed at LL Cool J, did not chart, and the music video satirized LL Cool J's "

Mama Said Knock You Out ''Mama Said Knock You Out'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper LL Cool J. It was produced mostly by Marley Marl and recorded at his "House of Hits" home studio in Chestnut Ridge and at Chung King House of Metal in New York City. Afte ...

" video.

Track listing

Sample credits *Track 2 contains elements from " Make It Funky" and "

Hot Pants Hotpants or hot pants are extremely short shorts. The term was first used by ''Women's Wear Daily'' in 1970 to describe shorts made in luxury fabrics such as velvet and satin for fashionable wear, rather than their more practical equivalents th ...

" by James Brown (1971) *Track 3 contains elements from " Escape-ism" by James Brown (1971), " Bring the Noise" by

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

(1987) and "

Atomic Dog "Atomic Dog" is a song by George Clinton from his 1982 album ''Computer Games''. The track was released as a single in December 1982 and became the P-Funk collective's last to reach #1 on the U.S. R&B Chart. The single failed to chart on the ...

" by George Clinton (1982) *Track 4 contains elements from "Mind Power" by James Brown (1973) *Track 5 contains elements from " Papa Don't Take No Mess" by James Brown (1974) *Track 6 contains elements from "

Funky Drummer "Funky Drummer" is a single released by James Brown in 1970. Its drum break, improvised by Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampled music recordings. Recording and composition "Funky Drummer" was recorded on November 20, 196 ...

" by James Brown (1970) *Track 7 contains elements from "Outa-Space" by Billy Preston (1971) and "

Stand! ''Stand!'' is the fourth album by soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, released on May 3, 1969. Written and produced by lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, ''Stand!'' is considered an artistic high-point of the band's career. ...

" by

Sly & the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi- ...

(1969) *Track 9 contains elements from "Bigger's Theme" by Mtume (1986) *Track 10 contains elements from "

Get on the Good Foot "Get on the Good Foot" is a funk song performed by James Brown. It was released in 1972 as a two-part single that charted #1 R&B and #18 Pop. It also appeared on an album of the same name released that year. Partly due to the unwillingness of ...

" by James Brown (1972), " Escape-ism" by James Brown (1971), "

Rock the Bells Rock the Bells was an annual hip-hop festival that originally took place in Southern California only, but has since toured throughout the world. The concert featured a line-up of high-profile alternative hip-hop artists, often headlined by a mor ...

" by LL Cool J (1985), "Let's Go" by

(1987), "

To Da Break of Dawn "To da Break of Dawn" is a single from both LL Cool J's fourth album, ''Mama Said Knock You Out'', and the soundtrack to the Kid 'n Play movie ''House Party''. The song was released on June 17, 1990 by Motown Records and Def Jam Recordings. B ...

" and "

" by LL Cool J (1990), "Change the Beat (Female Version)" by Beside (1982) and "It Gets No Rougher" by LL Cool J (1989) *Track 11 contains elements from "

Soul Power "Soul Power" is a song by James Brown. Brown recorded it with the original J.B.'s (plus Fred Wesley) and it was released as a three-part single in 1971. Like "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and other hits from this period it features ...

" by James Brown (1971), "Blow Your Head" by

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

& The J.B.'s (1974) and " Poison" by

Bell Biv DeVoe Bell Biv DeVoe, also known as BBD, is an American music group from Boston, Massachusetts, formed from members of New Edition, consisting of Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe. The band is best known for their debut album, the multi-p ...

(1990) *Track 12 contains elements from "Spirit of the Boogie" by

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. ...

(1975) and "Introduction to the J.B.'s" by

& The J.B.'s (1973) *Track 13 contains elements from "Gangster Boogie" by Chicago Gangsters (1975) and "

" by James Brown (1972) *Track 14 contains elements from "

Funky Worm "Funky Worm" is a song by American funk group the Ohio Players, from their album ''Pleasure''. It peaked at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' R&B chart in 1973 and also peaked at number fifteen on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ''Billboard'' ran ...

" by Ohio Players (1972), " I Know You Got Soul" by Eric B. & Rakim (1987), "

Think (About It) "Think (About It)" is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown (who also wrote the song) and features instrumental backing from his band The J.B.'s ...

" by

Lyn Collins Gloria Lavern Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, " Think (About It)". A favorite ...

(1972) and " It Takes Two" by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock (1988)

Personnel

* Mohandes Dewese – vocals, producer * Carlton Douglas Ridenhour – vocals (track 7) * Lawrence Parker – vocals (track 7) *Steve Arrington – backing vocals (tracks: 6, 11) *Mirage Mixeau – backing vocals (tracks: 11, 12) * Edward Theodore Riley – producer *Keith Spencer – producer *Dale Hogan – producer *Barbera Aimes – engineer/mixing *Anthony Saunders – assistant engineer/mixing *Dave Way – engineer *Jason Chervokas – engineer *Josh Chervokas – engineer *Al Singleton – assistant engineer *Ben Garrison – assistant engineer *Charlie Allen – assistant engineer *Dave Hecht – assistant engineer *Eric Lynch – assistant engineer *Scott Weatherspoon – assistant engineer *Tom Coyne – mastering *Sally Boon – photography

Charts

Album Singles

References

External links

{{Authority control 1991 albums Kool Moe Dee albums Jive Records albums Albums produced by Teddy Riley