4OneFunk
By Jeremy Tanner
“The vibe at a 4OneFunk party is a little bit different than when you go to the Sound Factory... we play the right records to rock a crowd all night,” Says Teeko, last year’s winner at the Disco Mixing Championships in San Francisco. SHOUT! spoke with him and Mr.B—two-time reigning Kool Mix champion. One half of 4OneFunk, they’ve blessed the Bay Area and international crowds for several years with innovation and style to make even the heaviest hitters of the DJ culture take notice.
Along with AlesOne and B-Cause, 4OneFunk destroyed all challengers from the United States and Canada to represent the USA at the International Turntable Federation championships in Germany this past December. In proper representation of their name, they brought the ITF group and scratching titles back to the 415. 4OneFunk has been hyping major crowds for artists such as Gang Starr, the Roots, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick and Camp Lo, but are now focusing their energy on local Bay Area clubs so check ‘em out or visit online at www.4OneFunk.com.
SHOUT!: Do you believe that there is a “Bay Area Sound” that is characteristic of the hip-hop coming out of Frisco, Oakland, Vallejo, Daly City, etc.?
Mr.B: Yes I do. When rappers like Too Short came out, they provided a sound and slang that influences hip-hop to this day. From E-40, Rappin 4-Tay, Mac Mall... Too Short made it possible for all the rappers to come up. Being independent also paved the way for groups like Heiroglyphics and the Living Legends to get a fan base.
Teeko: I don’t think a Bay Area Sound exists, that doesn’t seem reasonable, since the level of innovation is so high. You couldn’t pinpoint a sound and use it to generalize a community, if the community is as broad and creative as the Bay is. I think making music is a good thing, whatever sound it is...the creative aspects mean much more to me than categorizing a community.
SHOUT!: How would you describe the music that comes out of here?
Mr.B: Being really ghetto with beats. Trying to do shit that no one else would think of. Being abstract, not making a song with a normal format (a lot of songs will be one long verse). As for deejays, the sound is in the scratching. Most Bay Area deejays have patience when they scratch. We’re musicians and we like to be composed and smooth with our scratching. You can’t mess with Q-Bert, D-Styles, Quest, Disk, Flare, Teeko or Ales-one on the cut. They are too funky!
Teeko: The Bay Area has a wide variety of styles and ways to express them through music. The Bay is full of innovative, creative people who are not intimidated to create original sounds. Through rap we’ve been originating slang and flow. The amount of music that is being made that hasn’t surfaced yet is amazing and when it does, new ways of creating sounds will be known, and it’s all happening here in the Bay.
“The vibe at a 4OneFunk party is a little bit different than when you go to the Sound Factory... we play the right records to rock a crowd all night,” Says Teeko, last year’s winner at the Disco Mixing Championships in San Francisco. SHOUT! spoke with him and Mr.B—two-time reigning Kool Mix champion. One half of 4OneFunk, they’ve blessed the Bay Area and international crowds for several years with innovation and style to make even the heaviest hitters of the DJ culture take notice.
Along with AlesOne and B-Cause, 4OneFunk destroyed all challengers from the United States and Canada to represent the USA at the International Turntable Federation championships in Germany this past December. In proper representation of their name, they brought the ITF group and scratching titles back to the 415. 4OneFunk has been hyping major crowds for artists such as Gang Starr, the Roots, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick and Camp Lo, but are now focusing their energy on local Bay Area clubs so check ‘em out or visit online at www.4OneFunk.com.
SHOUT!: Do you believe that there is a “Bay Area Sound” that is characteristic of the hip-hop coming out of Frisco, Oakland, Vallejo, Daly City, etc.?
Mr.B: Yes I do. When rappers like Too Short came out, they provided a sound and slang that influences hip-hop to this day. From E-40, Rappin 4-Tay, Mac Mall... Too Short made it possible for all the rappers to come up. Being independent also paved the way for groups like Heiroglyphics and the Living Legends to get a fan base.
Teeko: I don’t think a Bay Area Sound exists, that doesn’t seem reasonable, since the level of innovation is so high. You couldn’t pinpoint a sound and use it to generalize a community, if the community is as broad and creative as the Bay is. I think making music is a good thing, whatever sound it is...the creative aspects mean much more to me than categorizing a community.
SHOUT!: How would you describe the music that comes out of here?
Mr.B: Being really ghetto with beats. Trying to do shit that no one else would think of. Being abstract, not making a song with a normal format (a lot of songs will be one long verse). As for deejays, the sound is in the scratching. Most Bay Area deejays have patience when they scratch. We’re musicians and we like to be composed and smooth with our scratching. You can’t mess with Q-Bert, D-Styles, Quest, Disk, Flare, Teeko or Ales-one on the cut. They are too funky!
Teeko: The Bay Area has a wide variety of styles and ways to express them through music. The Bay is full of innovative, creative people who are not intimidated to create original sounds. Through rap we’ve been originating slang and flow. The amount of music that is being made that hasn’t surfaced yet is amazing and when it does, new ways of creating sounds will be known, and it’s all happening here in the Bay.
posted by The Editor @ ١٠:٠٠ م
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