Trouble Funk, a musical group born on the streets of Washington, D.C., is synonymous with the emergence of the non-stop, percussion driven, music called Go-Go. As the world wide ambassadors of this musical genre, Go-Go, a distant, but older cousin of Hip-Hop, Trouble Funk has taken their sound from the gritty streets of D.C. to the clubs of the nation and the festivals around the world for the past 30 plus years. The band and their sound, developed by mixing an uproarious blend of swinging, up-tempo 70’s funk with a 60’s style horn section, heavily laden with infectious percussion, topped off with booming vocals and the genre’s trademark call and response, burst onto the music scene in 1978. With anthems “Drop the Bomb,” “Pump Me Up,” “Let’s Get Small,” “So Early in the Morning,” “Saturday Night Live From Washington, D.C., Parts 1 & 2,” “Say What?” and two R&B/ Hip-Hop Billboard charting tracks, “Still Smokin’” and “Good to Go.” Today, Trouble Funk still tours frequently, playing a variety of festivals while their music has been kept relevant through sampling. “Pump Me Up” is one of the most sampled tracks of all time being sampled in over 70 different songs by various artists including Will Smith, Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five, M/A/R/R/S, Guy, Public Enemy, 2 Live Crew, George Clinton, Vanilla Ice, EPMD, Run-DMC, & George Michael.
Operator Emz
Michael Greene is a DJ, music producer, and hip hop expert. He is a noted collector and curator based in New York City. He throws a weekly party in homage to the 45” record under the handle Operator Emz. Mobile Mondays! brings NYC’s vinyl rats together to celebrate everything from disco to garage, curated from the inside. Greene went from college radio to co-host one of the first commercial hip hop radio shows in LA, “The Joint.” On KBET, Greene combined his encyclopedic knowledge of music with sardonic humor, earning fans and making “King Emz” a local celebrity. He also found himself working at the newly minted Interscope Records, as a promoter of records like “The Chronic.”After years on the business side of the music industry, Greene turned his focus to production and events. He produced records for Cyndi Lauper, MIA, and Joell Ortiz. He launched Mobile Mondays! and collaborates with artists like longtime friend John Stanier of Battles, playing events like the Silent Disco party at MoMA. Adidas asked Greene to help design the Adidas Pro Model for 2013, bringing his sneaker guru know-how to their operation in Berlin. As a DJ, Greene has worked for Nike, Sony, Warner, Universal, and Absolut for events worldwide. As a curator, Michael Greene introduces underground classics to new audiences.