One of THE spoken word classics of the 70s funk years – an amazing album based around the poetry of Camille Yarbrough – set to some amazing funky backings! The sound here is incredibly righteous – almost a more sophisticated version of Betty Davis – done with a stark, spare groove that makes the bass bits and drums really come out in the mix! Camille's got a heck of a lot of personal vision, and really works the album together as a whole – making for a set that's far more than just "poetry plus music" – and instead an audio tapestry with an incredibly deep sound! Includes a heavy rap on the streets that culminates in the great "Little Sally the Super Sex Star" – plus the classic "Take Yo Praise", which was sampled famously by Fatboy Slim – and the cuts "Can I Get A Witness" and "All Hid". CD

One of THE spoken word classics of the 70s funk years – an amazing album based around the poetry of Camille Yarbrough – set to some amazing funky backings! The sound here is incredibly righteous – almost a more sophisticated version of Betty Davis – done with a stark, spare groove that makes the bass bits and drums really come out in the mix! Camille's got a heck of a lot of personal vision, and really works the album together as a whole – making for a set that's far more than just "poetry plus music" – and instead an audio tapestry with an incredibly deep sound! Includes a heavy rap on the streets that culminates in the great "Little Sally the Super Sex Star" – plus the classic "Take Yo Praise", which was sampled famously by Fatboy Slim – and the cuts "Can I Get A Witness" and "All Hid". LP, Vinyl record album

Righteous poetry and jazz from Eugene Redmond – aka Illu Gan Gan – a very spiritual figure from the early 70s Bay Area scene! The album was recorded live in the studio, in a style that has Redmond introducing his work, then moving into dramatic recitations backed up by small combo jazz instrumentation that includes guitar, percussion, and soprano sax. The feel is open and free, almost an African-American take on the beat poetry style of late 50s San Francisco – but with themes that are more righteous, and a bad-talking style that puts the record in the same sphere as contemporaneous work by Camille Yarbrough, Jayne Cortez, Wanda Robinson, and even Iceberg Slim. Titles include "Hummin Hookin & Cookin", "Sun Ritual", "Epigrams For My Father", "River Of Bones & Flesh & Blood", "The Edge Of Myself", and "All Athighed In Black". LP, Vinyl record album

Very righteous work from this obscure 70s poet – a contemporary to Nikki Giovanni, Camille Yarbrough, and others – but not nearly as widely recorded! The album features no instrumentation, just Sonia reading her poems – and the work itself is pretty progressive, very much in the spirit of other hip female poets of the time, although perhaps a bit more personal in some of the subject matter – especially given that the album is introduced by Sanchez as "talking about love – a black woman's love for her man, children, nation." Titles include "A Black Woman Speaks", "Listen To Big Black", "Liberation Poem", "A Needed Poem For My Salvation", "When We Come", "It's A New Day", and "To Anita". 24 tracks in all. LP, Vinyl record album

Features Marc Cary on Fender Rhodes, piano and moog, Taru Mateen on bass, Camille Gainer on drums, Yarbrough Charles Laws on flute, bass clarinet and percussion, plus guest guitar from Marvin Sewell. CD

Way more than just a typical collection of rare funk and soul – as the selections here not only meet the stunningly high standards of the BGP label – but they've also been sampled in more recent years for hip hop records and other contemporary recordings! Essentially, you've got the best of both worlds – vintage funk from the late 60s and early 70s – brought together in a great collection – and work that's gone onto form the blueprint for contemporary urban sounds as well – which means you'll probably recognize some or part of most of these songs from their use in more contemporary recordings. Nearly every cut's been sampled at least more than once – and titles include "Blind Alley" by The Emotions, "Chick A Boom" by Pazant Brothers, "Eva" by Jean Jacques Perry, "Walk Tall" by Cannonball Adderley, "Baby Let Me Take You In My Arms" by Detroit Emeralds, "Bouncy Lady" by Pleasure, "Tramp" by Lowell Fulson, "Take Yo Praise" by Camille Yarbrough, "Thinking Single" by The Counts, "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson, "Ike's Mood" by Isaac Hayes, "What A Man" by Linda Lynell, and "Smokey Joe's La La" by Googie Rene. Funky funky! LP, Vinyl record album

Groovy little compilation of rare cuts from the Vanguard label – featuring a great mix of soul, funk, and other groovy tracks! Includes the monster sample "E.V.A.", by Jean Jacques Perry; "Funky Monkey", by Chris Hills; "I Like It" by the Players Association; and (these are the ones we love) two cuts by the Pazant Brothers ("Loose & Juicy" and "Work Song", both totally rare and funky!) Also features the classic "Take Yo Praise" by Camille Yarbrough, plus more by Dave Burns and Jean Jaques Perry! LP, Vinyl record album