[Today: An ex-pro skater nails a funky groove...]
Former professional skater Tommy Guerrero has been making quality albums for the last ten years, and should soon lose the ever-present prefix that refers to his former line of employment. His music is mostly instrumental neo-funk that bounces and glides like a series of ready-made hip-hop samples. It contains elements of lounge, soul, funk, folk, jazz, rock, hip-hop, and latin music, but this is a hybrid sound that’s hard to categorize and easy to enjoy.
Released in 2003, Soul Food Taqueria, adds a few guest vocalists to the mix (including the fabulous Lyrics Born) and takes Guerrero’s overall sound to another level. The album is his musical tribute to the streets of his hometown San Francisco. It’s appropriately earthy, and backed by multiple beats from the street, yet the entire album shimmers with an undeniable urban sophistication. It’s more produced than his previous albums (“[I'm] still down with the fucked up 4 track action” he said upon this release), but the extra layer of polish only highlights the intricacy of the tunes. Guerrero’s rhythms are so organic that no amount of knob-twiddling could render them otherwise.
Like the themes to many great 70’s cop shows, these songs funk it up, leave a deep impression, and then disappear in a puff of smoke. Guerrero was good enough on a skateboard to beat Tony Hawk in the half-pipe, but he’s found his true calling making stone grooves like Soul Food Taqueria.
Listen: Tatanka
Tags: funk, Lyrics Born, pro skateboarding, Soul Food Taqueria, Tommy Guerrero
15 December 2007 at 2:38 pm |
Speaking of professional skaters, Tanya Harding’s former bodyguard just died.