Mr Bongo

Much about ‘Beat Bop’ is shrouded in mystery. Who really produced it? Why was Jean-Michel Basquiat relegated from rapper on the track to drawing the cover and labels? What are they actually rapping about for most of the ten-minute length?

These questions, however, are all part of the enigma and rich legend surrounding a song that is an undisputed piece of true hip-hop genius. The combination of graffiti artist Rammellzee and rapper K-Rob is a potent one, with each MC adopting a persona - hustler and B-Boy respectively - that they maintain against an unusual swirling backdrop that must be one of the best instrumentals ever committed to wax.

The original Tartown Record pressing was limited to 500 copies, a mere test pressing in the eyes of the assembled artists, with scarcity further driven by Basquiat’s rising rep in the art world. Those few hundred copies – and a subsequent re-release on Profile Records (the same label where K-Rob played out the rest of his brief career) – punched well above their weight in terms of lasting influence.

Consider the early vocal tones of the Beastie Boys (who also sampled the track), or the huge part it played in the sound of Cypress Hill and B-Real. His voice is almost homage to Rammellzee’s on ‘Beat Bop’, while they also lifted the chorus of ‘Shoot ‘Em Up’ and even a sample of ‘Cypress Hill’ from the track too. It’s unsurprising – this is a multi-layered, complex song that reveals a little more of itself each time you play it but remains damn funky.

This reissue boasts the vocal and instrumental versions in full, as well as both the full cover and label artwork from the original Tartown Release. – Mr Bongo

1967 album from the legendary Brazilian singer, composer & producer, Marcos Valle. Arranged by Eumir Deodato. Superior high-quality audio reproduction - mastered from original tapes. - Linear Notes | Mr Bongo

Official Mr Bongo Reissue | Highlife & straight up funky Musiq

Extremely hard-to-obtain LP from the Ghanaian master composer, producer and musician. Originally released in 1982 by the WEA International label and then again in Germany in 1985 by Ambolley himself; this is one of his finest albums in our opinion.

’Ambolley’ fuses Highlife, disco and boogie sonics perfectly and features the anthemic club cut, ‘Highlife’, that we have spinning for a while – always does the job! - Mr Bongo

We can’t think of many artists that have had as diverse a career and who have been involved in as many different genres of music as Asha Puthli. A musical pioneer who forged a path through 60's psych, free-jazz, pop, rock, disco, and more.

Asha's 1976 album 'The Devil Is Loose' is maybe her most well-known record. Featuring the beautiful disco-funk-classic 'Space Talk’, Asha's ethereal soaring vocals take us on a journey that almost mirrors Asha's eclectic career. The track was championed by a wide-range of musical scenes and movements, and over space and time it has been commandeered as their own. You would hear it played by David Mancuso at the now ‘mythical’ underground New York party 'The Loft’, in the most discerning disco nightclubs across the globe, in the Rare Groove scene, and also being sampled by hip-hop heavyweights such as The Notorious B.I.G / P Diddy, and The Pharcyde. The appeal and lifespan of ’Space Talk’ keeps on extending and morphing as new audiences gleefully discover it for the first time - it still sounds as relevant and fresh on the dancefloor today - a sign of a true classic.

Here at Mr Bongo we are thrilled to be releasing records by such an iconic musical maverick as Asha, from her roots in India to becoming a globe-trotting artist with a celebrated career in music and acting, whilst always staying true to her art. She has blazed a trail so that others could follow. Whether you are buying this album as a replacement for your worn-out original copy or it's the first time you've heard of Asha Puthli and you're just intrigued and drawn in by the cover, we hope you enjoy this quintessential slice of Asha's world. – Bandcamp

Official replica re-issue of a South African jazz-funk rarity from Teaspoon & The Waves.

Released in 1977 on Soul Jazz Pop, a subsidiary label of Mavuthela Music Company / Gallo, Teaspoon & The Waves’ self-titled album is an absolute masterpiece. Best known for the song 'Oh Yeh Soweto’, which is an astonishing adaptation of Lamont Dozier's anthem 'Going Back to My Roots', this track has become a contemporary underground club classic in recent times and has been featured in sets from a cross-section of DJs. With such a massive calling card song, it could be easy to write off the album as a typical one-tracker (like so many records often are), but that is a long way from the truth. Each of the remaining four tracks are super strong and, for us here at Mr Bongo, this has to be our favourite South African record of this era. 'Saturday Express' is a jazz-funk/disco stomper which will soon be lighting up dancefloors again. 'Wind and Fire' is true afro-jazz-funk excellence, with great spacey synths and reggae-inspired guitar grooves riding throughout. The opener, 'Friday Night’, also has a slightly reggae-tinged tropical groove, whilst 'Got Me Tight' finishes off the session with a feel-good jazz-funk workout that features cool, quirky, Patrick Adams-esque synths.

Saxophonist Teaspoon Ndlela has had an amazing and rich musical career. Releasing albums on records labels Soul Jazz Pop, Hit Special, Gallo GRC, alongside working with and writing for South African artists such as Mpharanyana, Stimela, Sipho Gumede and Sgu. He also features on the Paul Simon track 'Gumboots' taken from the iconic 'Graceland' project. Though best known for 'Oh Yeh Soweto' we hope this re-issue helps demonstrate that there is much more magic in this wonderful musician's repertoire to discover. – Bandcamp

Re-issue of a soul masterpiece from 1974

'I Love You More and More' by Tom Brock was Tom's only solo album release, but what a beautiful classic it is. For some, it is up there in the pantheon alongside their all-time treasured soul favourites such as Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On'.

Produced by the legend Barry White and released on 20th Century Records in 1974, it features the lush hallmark orchestration, heartfelt songs, and funky yet slick playing you’d expect from a White production. Like a dusting of sugar onto the top of the cake, the record also features the stunning arrangements of the great pianist, arranger, composer, and producer Gene Page, whose musical career left an impressive and prolific legacy.

'I Love You More and More' received another lease of life when it was resurrected for a new audience after having been sampled by Jay-Z, Mos Def, C.L. Smooth, and others. The record is solid throughout, but the song 'There's Nothing in This World That Can Stop Me From Loving You’ proved to be an extra-bright star in the sky and it formed the base to Jay-Z's 2001 hit 'Girls, Girls, Girls'. The sampling of Tom’s work triggered the collectors, diggers and DJs to explore his record and to transfer their passion for it onto their followers too.

Tom Brock passed away in 2002, but left behind his sensational soulful voice on a handful of amazing dusty 7" singles, several assorted productions recorded by other artists, and this absolute winner of an album, which will be cherished for years to come.  – Bandcamp

“For a handful of years in the Seventies, SpaceArk was one of the most promising and electrifying bands in Southern California. Although their music was far greater than the sum of its parts, those parts made for a very original style. R&b, soul, rock, pop, jazz, classical … it all came together in blissful stream of intricate compositions that swept up crowds from US military bases to Northern Soul clubs around the UK. SpaceArk wrote and performed more than 100 songs during their time together. Most of them were not recorded and are now either lost or forgotten.” – Bandcamp

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"Incredibly unique concept album from the one and only, Tom Zé. As featured in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Brazilian Albums of all-time list (2007). 

One of Ze’s finest albums in our opinion, originally released by Continental Brazil in 1976 – a tough one to find at a good price in its original form now.

‘Estudando do Samba’ (or ‘Studying The Samba’) is a post-Tropicalia studio experimentation laiden with layers of hypnotic percussion, effects & samples that deconstructs the ‘samba’ form. Recorded during what was arguably his most creative period.

David Byrne found the record in Rio in the late 90’s and included several songs on his Tom Ze collection for Luaka Bop a few years later. At that time Tom was not recording or touring much; playing low-key shows in Sao Paulo and contemplating a move back to Irará to work at a service station owned by one of his cousins. Byrne’s project helped to reignite his career and he hasn’t looked back since." - Mr Bongo

Item description:

Seminal funk-rock album originally released on Rare Earth in 1970. Featuring the monster breakbeat on 'The Sorcerer Of Isis’. Formed in Detroit in 1968, Power of Zeus became the first rock band to be signed by Motown subsidiary label, Rare Earth. The group drew inspiration from British hard rock and heavy metal giants like Cream, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin when they created this well-produced, seminal post-hard rock album.

After ‘The Gospel According to Zeus’, the group never made another album and the band slipped into obscurity, until it was discovered by the hip hop diggers. The break from "Sorcerer Of Isis" has been one of the most sampled in hip-hop music, including KRS-One, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Cyprus Hill, Tribe Called Quest and Eminem to name a few.

Half-speed mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, London. Transferred from 2 x 1/4" analog reels at 192kHz/24-bit. – Mr Bongo

The 1977 album from legendary Brazilian artist, Tim Maia. A fusion of soul, boogie, disco and MPB, featuring ‘E Necessario’.

Maia released over 30 albums during his extensive and well-publicised career, touching on funk, bossa nova, disco, MPB, rock, soul and jazz. He was a driving force behind the introduction of soul, funk and disco from the USA into Brazilian music styles and was hugely influential in the 'Black Rio' movement in Brazil in the early ’70's.

This, his 1977 album, that epitomises that fusion of sounds and styles. ‘E Necessario’ has been a favourite of ours for many years; included on our Brazilian Beats Brooklyn compilation and released as part of our Brazil 45’s series. – Mr Bongo

Célia Regina Cruz recorded four self-titled albums for Continental between 1971 and 1977, ‘Amor’ in 1982 plus several more before she sadly passed away late in 2017. Célia was a Brazilian vocalist who worked frequently with master arranger-composer Arthur Verocai in her early years and many other heavyweights over the course of her extensive career.

This, her second self-titled LP from 1972, features an all-star line up including Arthur Verocai, Erasmo Carlos, Roberto Carlos, Marcos Valle, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Nonato Buzar and Vinicius de Moraes amongst others.

Célia’s version of ‘Na Boca do Sol’ – taken from this album – is arguably her most well-known and well-loved song. An incredible take on Verocai’s original, featuring waling fuzz guitars, strings, piano, horns and drums.  

Needless to say clean, original versions of this record now change hands for silly money! We are very proud to be able to reissue it officially, at long last.

Official Mr Bongo reissue. Replica original gatefold artwork. Licensed from Warner Music. - Mr Bongo

Visions was almost entirely performed and recorded in one take during an intense studio session. The record is a partly-composed, partly-improvised suite of free-flowing music intended to be enjoyed as a complete body of work. Tavares plays piano and guitar, Whitty the saxophone and flute, and the duo are joined by Julian Anderson-Bowes on bass and Matthew Chalmers on drums.

Matthew Tavares and Leland Whitty are Grammy-winning artists and achieved international acclaim with BADBADNOTGOOD; Tavares was one of the band’s founders before amicably departing in 2019, whilst Whitty remains an active member. Beyond BADBAD, the pair’s credits include music with Kendrick Lamar, Little Simz, Kali Uchis and Kaytranada, plus Tavares' 2018 debut solo album Déjàvu and production work for Travis Scott, Justin Bieber, Post Malone, Camilla Cabello and others. - Mr Bongo

'Extremely hard-to-find Ghanaian LP from legendary musician Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, originally released in 1980. Tough Highlife, funk and boogie moods with added synthesizer! Ambolley is still actively touring today, keeping these vibes alive – he will be touring Europe throughout 2019.' This is the third Gyedu Blay Ambolley LP that we have reissued on Mr Bongo, following on from his seminal ‘Ambolley’ and ‘Simigwa’ recordings.' - Mr Bongo

Tough, mid-tempo Ghanaian funk & Highlife grooves from Ebo Taylor Junior, son of the mighty Ebo Taylor. Originally released in 1978; now extremely difficult and expensive to find in its original form. Today Ebo Taylor Jnr plays keys in his fathers band that continues to tour when he is able to. – Light In The Attic

London “tropical punk” band The Skints have been making some waves the past few months with their most recent release Swimming Lessons. I can’t help but be thoroughly impressed with this album from start to finish. With its outstanding use of musical flavors such as reggae, soul, dubstep, punk, ragga, and rap, it all ties together effortlessly. In fact, so effortlessly that one doesn’t really quite realize that all these genres are being integrated into one soundscape experience. Swimming Lessons is a beautifully crafted project that puts together dark, thoughtful lyricism with intricate use of musicianship. It is a fusion of musical genres that displays political yet personal messages.

Moments like “Learning to Swim” dive us into a delightful reggae and punk experience. It is the perfect start to Swimming Lessons as it introduces all the beautiful experiences we will hear for the remainder of this 14-track journey. “Gets on Top” is sure to be a crowd favorite with its infectious use of rap and island flair. We get into a different kind of territory when we hear instant classics such as “What Did I Learn Today?” and “The Island,” where some of the island muse takes a back seat to advance the punk aesthetic. This isn’t a bad thing, as it serves as a pleasant pallet cleanser, showing that the band is capable of producing a really great rock record. Overall, this album is a huge success in more ways than one. Its combination of tropical, rock, and rap genres keeps the record interesting which delivers a melodic, rhythmic adventure force to be contended with. –Spill Magazine

Classic Brazilian album from master drummer, Ronald Mesquita, originally released in 1972. Featuring songs by Jorge Ben, Antonio Carlos-Jobim, Gilberto Gil, Edu Lobo and others.

Mesquita is probably most well-known for playing with Luis Carlos Vinhas and his ‘Bossa Tres’ outfit, along with his own group, ‘Ronie E A Central Do Brasil’, that he formed after his return from the US in the early 1970’s. He also played on several songs on Tenorio Jr.’s ‘Embalo’ album that we recently reissued. - Mr Bongo

Hard-to-obtain, vintage highlife from three true giants of the sound; Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas & Uhuru Yenzu. Originally released in 1982. In 'Hitsville Re-Visited', the mighty trio add a dose of uptempo funk into traditional highlife grooves. The legendary Ebo Taylor was involved in many funk and highlife records to emerge from Ghana in the 70's and 80's. He worked with bands such as Apagya Show Band, C.K. Mann as well as Pat Thomas, on this, and several other records. – Mr Bongo | Bandcamp