"Dance To The Drummer's Beat" was real stormer in the South Bronx back in the day, and a great bit of uptempo funk with congas – the break and chorus are both great, and the single's like finding a page in the history of hip hop book! 12-inch, Vinyl record

The percussion-heavy soul gem from Herman Kelly & Life – recorded in both Brazil & Miami – and awash with killer drum work all the way through! The album's a key part of the Miami sound especially – and really shows the way that city's 70s funk scene used congas heavily – really filling up the middle of a cut with even more energy than usual! The album's best known for the classic sample cut "Dance to the Drummer's Beat" – which is offered up here in a nice extended version, with a long percussion break that makes it even tastier than usual – and the record's also got a few other uptempo cuts like "Who's the Funky DJ?" and "Do The Handbone" – plus the tracks "Time After Time", "A Refreshing Love", and "Share Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album

The percussion-heavy soul gem from Herman Kelly & Life – recorded in both Brazil & Miami – and awash with killer drum work all the way through! The album's a key part of the Miami sound especially – and really shows the way that city's 70s funk scene used congas heavily – really filling up the middle of a cut with even more energy than usual! The album's best known for the classic sample cut "Dance to the Drummer's Beat" – which is offered up here in a nice extended version, with a long percussion break that makes it even tastier than usual – and the record's also got a few other uptempo cuts like "Who's the Funky DJ?" and "Do The Handbone" – plus the tracks "Time After Time", "A Refreshing Love", and "Share Your Love". CD

A cool collection of grooves from the legendary TK Records label – and one that goes way past the obvious hits that topped the charts back in the 70s! The package is less the overall story of TK, than it is a great reminder that there's some really funky nuggets lurking deep in the label's mighty catalog – killer tunes that show that the Miami club sound of the late 70s was firmly rooted in funk and deep soul of the earlier part of the decade – at a level that still stayed pretty funky, even well into the disco generation! There's some great gems here – and titles include "Lady Fingers" by Tony Middleton, "Plato's Retreat" by Joe Thomas, "Funk Reaction" by Lonnie Smith, "Harlem Nocturne" by Wildflower, "Don't Turn Away" by Midnite Flite, "Star Cruiser" by Gregg Diamond, "Funk Machine" by Funk Machine, "Hey Sexy Dancer" by Rocky Mizell, "Dance To The Drummer's Beat" by Herman Kelly & Life, and "Do What You Wanna Do" by T Connection. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

Classic breaks – all the way through – the kind of sharp funky nuggets that have had a rich new life, thanks to their use in hip hop and club tracks in recent years! This may not be the most underground stuff in the world to those out there who've been digging through crates for funk and soul for the past ten years, but it is an exquisite compilation that features some of the best funky tracks used as samples by hip hoppers, nearly every one of them a famous cut that you'll probably recognize in a minute! Titles include "I Like It" by The Emotions, "Dance To The Drummer's Beat" by Herman Kelly, "Cramp Your Style" by All The People, "Hard Times" by Baby Huey, "Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth" by 24 Carat Black, "Kool Is Back" by Funk Inc, "Our Generation" by Ernie Hines, "Heaven & Hell" by 20th Century Steel Band, "Unhooked Generation" by Freda Payne, "Papa Was, Too" by Joe Tex, "Just A Groove In G" by Wilbur Bascomb & The Zodiac, "Be Thankful For What You Got" by William De Vaughn, and "You're Getting A Little Too Smart" by The Detroit Emeralds. 18 cuts in all! (Funky Compilations, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A deep double-dip into the legendary TK Records catalog of Miami Soul – and one that offers up a very different version of the label than you might know from the hits! This 2CD set follows in the best tradition of the Free Soul series from Japan – which means that the collection is filled with unusual tracks that we might have missed otherwise, alongside other numbers that we do know, but which seem to have a really special vibe in this setting – an unpacking of the TK catalog from top to bottom, with a special focus on warmer, more unusual bits of funk and soul. Titles include "Jolie" by Lattimore, "Don't Waste My Time" by Jerry Washington, "Keep It Up" by Milton Wright, "You Knock Me Out" by Wildflower, "Cramp Your Style" by All The People, "I Can't Leave Your Love Alone" by Willie & Anthony, "Street Love" by Spats, "Concrete Jungle" by Little Beaver, "Good Good Lovin" by Charles Johnson, "90% Of Me Is You" by Vanessa Kendrick, "I Got Bills To Pay" by Johnny K, "You Can Be A Lady" by JP Robinson, "Love Is A Simple Thing" by Leon Ware, "Island Girl" by Lew Kirton, "Share Your Love" by Herman Kelly & Life, "Ain't Nothin Wrong" by KC & The Sunshine Band, "What Would Your Mama Say" by Facts Of Life, "Jazz Freak" by Paulette Reaves, "Let's Make A Baby" by Funky Brown, "The Love We Had Stays On My Mind" by Freddy Henry, and "How Long" by Brandye. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD