Mr. Melody - Funk Motor

OK. Just so you don't all think I'm a complete crackpot, who collects nothing but useless record paraphernalia and oddball vinyl, I'm gonna try and do a regular weekly post on straight up Hip-Hop. No particular sub-genre or time period, just good music that has either been slept on or is fairly unknown. I'll try not to cover anything that has been talked about too much elsewhere but stuff I do think deserves a little bit more shine.

So. I'm gonna kick off with this slightly obscure 12" out of Philly from 1989 - "Funk Motor" by Mr. Melody. As far as I know this is his only release and the only release on the label - 'On The Rap Side Records'. Vocal and instrumental are included for this one track. The music's very typical of the period, with an obvious J.B. sample, but really well put together by producer, MAD. There's nice tight cuts and an underlying keyboard bassline (not annoying in any way), which Mr. Melody rides well with a smooth delivery and good freestyle lyrics. Nothing super outstanding or ground breaking, but definitely a solid Hip-Hop record that's well worth adding to the collection, and easily as good as at least 50% of the stuff on all the 'Golden Age' mixes that have come out over the last 5 years or so.

I actually scored this blind on eBay for 49p, just to bump up on combined shipping. I had no idea what it was, and the fact nobody else bid on it didn't encourage too much anticipation. I was pleasantly surprised though. In fact, it turned out to be my favourite record from the batch. This is the sort of 'Random' Rap record that, had Ivory, Muro, Shadow, or any of the like, included on a mix, would probably now be commanding high prices. As it is, you should be able to pick it up pretty cheap and without too much effort.



Mr. Melody "Funk Motor" (1989 On The Rap Side Records 12")