Trouble Funk is an American R&B and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

band from

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The group helped to popularize funk and the subgenre

go-go Go-go is a subgenre of funk music with an emphasis on specific rhythmic patterns, and live audience call and response. Go-go was originated by African-American musicians in the Washington, D.C. area during the mid-60s to late-70s. Go-go has l ...

in the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

. Among the band's well-known songs are the go-go anthem "Hey, Fellas". They released several studio albums including ''

Drop the Bomb ''Drop the Bomb'' is a studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th c ...

'', ''

In Times of Trouble ''In Times of Trouble'' is a studio album released in 1983 by the Washington, D.C.-based go-go band Trouble Funk. Track listing ;Side A #"Spintime" – 4:50 #"In Times of Trouble" – 5:23 #"Share Your Love" – 5:07 #"Good Times" – 4:29 ;S ...

'', ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

'', and ''

Trouble Over Here ''Trouble Over Here'' (also titled ''Trouble Over Here, Trouble Over There'') is a studio album by American go-go band Trouble Funk, released in 1987 by Island Records. Track listing Personnel * Chester "T-Bone" Davis – lead guitar * Tony ...

Trouble Over There'' (UK No. 54), and two live albums, ''Trouble Funk: Straight Up Go-Go Style'' and ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''. In 1982, they released a single "So Early in the Morning" on D.E.T.T Records, later reissued on diverse labels as 2.13.61 and Tuff City. Trouble Funk sometimes shared the stage with

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

bands of the day such as

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitaris ...

and the

Big Boys Big Boys were an American pioneering punk rock band who are credited with having helped to create and introduce skate punk as a new style of music, which became popular in the 1980s. They also were famous for bringing elements of funk into thei ...

. Trouble Funk's song "Pump Me Up" was

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

by many other artists, including Dimples D.'s one-hit wonder " Sucker DJ", which went to No. 1 in Australia,

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 ...

's "

Fight the Power Fight the Power may refer to: * "Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)", a 1975 song by the Isley Brothers * "Fight the Power" (Public Enemy song) (1989) * '' Fight the Power... Live!'', a 1989 music video compilation by Public Enemy * '' Fight the Power: G ...

Kurtis Blow Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper ...

's song "If I Ruled the World" and

M.A.R.R.S. MARRS (stylised M, A, R, R, S) were a 1987 recording collective formed by the groups A.R. Kane and Colourbox, which only released one commercial disc. It became "a one-hit wonder of rare influence" because of their international hit " Pump Up ...

's song " Pump Up the Volume". The song is also featured in the film ''

Style Wars ''Style Wars'' is an American 1983 documentary film on hip hop culture, directed by Tony Silver and produced in collaboration with Henry Chalfant. The film has an emphasis on graffiti, although bboying and rapping are covered to a lesser extent ...

'' and on the fictional

old-school hip hop Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contem ...

radio station Wildstyle in the game, '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City''. Keyboard player Robert "Syke Dyke" Reed died at the age of 50 on April 13, 2008, from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

. Trouble Funk remains active in the Washington, D.C. area live-music scene.

Discography

*''

'' (also titled as ''Straight Up Funk Go Go Style'') (Jamtu Records, 1981) *''

'' ( Sugar Hill, 1982) *''

'' (D.E.T.T. Records, 1983) *''

'' (

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

, 1983) *'' Say What!'' (

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, 1986) *''

'' (

, 1987) *'' Early Singles'' (Infinite Zero, 1997) *'' Droppin' Bombs'' (Harmless, 1998) *'' E Flat Boogie'' (Funky Delicacies, 2000) *'' The Complete Collection of Trouble Funk'' (TF Records, 2015)

References

External links

Official Trouble Funk website

Trouble Funk discography at Discogs.com
{{Authority control Go-go musical groups Musical groups from Washington, D.C. Island Records artists Musical groups established in 1978 1978 establishments in Washington, D.C.