Starting off the New Year with new funk is always a good way to go, and Dam-Funk obliges our wishes by dropping “Special Friends.” The funky instrumental is the perfect soundtrack to working up some body heat and a good body roll on these cold winter days.
“Special Friends” is smooth yet bouncy, laid-back yet something you can move to. The bass is as funky as it comes with what sounds like the aid of wah-wah pedal to add that lubricious bounce. The synths and his work on the keys combine to form a light, catchy melody that floats effortlessly over the bass and the kicks. The sound is 100 percent Dam-Funk, and we can easily hear some R&B vocals finding a home on “Special Friends” as surely as we can see a rapper spitting G-Funk inspired bars over it, too. That's the beauty of Dam-Funk's work. He's a constant reminder of the relevance and versatility of funk and shows with each piece of work he puts out that funk is here to stay.
Dam-Funk is coming off of a big 2015, following the release of his banging LP Invite the Light and a funkdafied remix that he concocted of Dislosure's "Holding On" that caught us out there. Although Invite the Light is still fresh on his fans' playlists, we can't help but hope that Dam-Funk will drop another LP (or even an EP) soon. It looks like he has no plans of slowing the funk down, which is good news because now is the time when the industry needs a resurgence of the genre the most with Dam-Funk and fellow funkateers Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington and The Game leading the way.
