| "Funk You Up" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Sequence | ||||
| Released | December 1979 | |||
| Recorded | Sugar Hill Studios, November 1979 | |||
| Genre | Funk, old-school hip hop, rap | |||
| Length | 6:30 (single version) 10:30 (12" version) | |||
| Label | Sugar Hill | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Angela Brown, Cheryl Cooke, Gwendolyn Chisolm, Sylvia Robinson | |||
| Producer(s) | Sylvia Robinson | |||
| The Sequence singles chronology | ||||
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"Funk You Up" is a 1979 old school hip hop song recorded by the Sequence for Sugar Hill Records. It is significant as the first hip-hop song to be released by a female rap group (and by a rap group from the Southern United States, as all three members of The Sequence were natives of Columbia, South Carolina), and was the second single released on Sugar Hill, following " Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang. [1]
Sampling
The opening guitar and synth-drums were sampled in Organized Rhyme's single, "Check the O.R." Dr. Dre used interpolations for his 1995 hit " Keep Their Heads Ringin'". [2] In 2003, a semi-remake entitled " Love of My Life Worldwide" appeared on Erykah Badu's album, Worldwide Underground. Erykah Badu's version contained rap vocals from herself, Queen Latifah, Bahamadia and Angie Stone a.k.a. the Sequence's Angie B in her later R&B persona.
In 1997, En Vogue sampled the song on their remix of " Whatever" featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard.
In 2016, the Sequence claimed that Mark Ronson's " Uptown Funk" infringed their single "Funk You Up". They decided to sue a year later. [3] [4]
In 2022, Katy Perry did an advertisement for food delivery service Just Eat which interpolated "Funk You Up" (There were alternative versions for the Menulog and SkipTheDishes adverts).
References
- ^ Greenberg, Steve; Light, Alan [ed.] (1999). The VIBE History of Hip Hop. Three Rivers Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-609-80503-7
- ^ Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists: Book of Rap Lists. 1999. Macmillan. p. 30. ISBN 0-312-24298-0
- ^ Minsker, Evan (October 29, 2016). "Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars Sued Over "Uptown Funk"". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
- ^ Fabio, Michelle (December 30, 2017). "Bruno Mars And Mark Ronson's 'Uptown Funk' Faces (Yet Another) Copyright Infringement Suit". Forbes. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
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