TOWN LOVE is an online art museum dedicated to celebrating the vibrant past and present of Northwest Hip-Hop. You can browse by artist or browse by year.

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Artist: Funk Daddy

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

In Tha Mix

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In Tha Mix was created in and features appearances from:

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

I Want All That

Greg “Funk Daddy” Buren is a Seattle hip-hop all-star. In the 80’s he sharpened his craft as a DJ/rapper/producer, a force to be reckoned with. In the 90’s he exploded onto the national rap scene, thanks in no small part to his work with hyphy Bay Area emperor E-40. Right after Y2K, Funk Daddy continued to impress with his 2001 album I Want All That.

On “Intro,” perpetual weed-smoker B-Legit is ready to cosign for Funk Daddy, and he says so in as many words. Up-and-comer at the time Livio had just dropped his own debut single, and he joins Funk Daddy on the sardonic “All These Hos.” Groovy track “Freaks Sippin Hennessy” is an interpolation of Digital Underground’s 1990 sexy classic “Freaks Of The Industry,” and original Underground member Money B unspools an entertaining verse. Funk Daddy reunites with his Crooked Path partners Jay Skee and Dee-Lyrious on the excellent, upbeat cut “Just Don’t Stop.”

Rhyme Cartel-signed, rap/rock act Outtasite adds vocals to three tracks on I Want All That, album opener “Whatchuthought,” party anthem “Mah City’s Tight,” and the quite explicit “Ghetto Luv.” “Drinking till we see the sun, ladies be like two to to one, you don’t need no lady luck, bouncing like they’re down to f***,” goes a typical line from “Mah City’s Tight.” Portland’s Cool Nutz is featured on “Day To Day,” which has one of my favorite beats on the album. The various voices and guest appearances add zesty flavor to the project, and the album stays spicy from start to finish. The menu is assisted by rapper Mr. Rossi, who appears on most of the tracks here.

The artwork on the back of I Want All That is a city skyline, with the Space Needle modestly featured. This isn’t directed at Funk Daddy, but I have a question for all current Seattle hip-hop artists. Why do you need to put a picture of the Space Needle on your album? Is it so you can find your way home? Is it like sewing your name in your jeans to identify them?

In June of 2022, the company which owns the 1962 landmark sued a Seattle coffee business that used the Needle as its company logo. According to an article in US News & World Report, “Karen Olson, head of Space Needle operations and marketing, said the legal action is unusual. ‘We’ve never had to get to this point,’ Olson said. ‘I’m surprised that we’re here.’” In the past, the Needle let things slide, but brazen usage of the trademark has multiplied in recent years. Rappers, just ask yourselves, what am I trying to say by using the Needle in my art? Written by Novocaine132

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Funk U Right On Up

In the early ’90s, DJ Greg “Funk Daddy” Buren really turned up the heat. He recorded a full album with his group Crooked Path called After Dark, and also contributed production for E-40 and D-Shot in the Bay Area. Then in 1995, he dropped two solo projects back to back, Funk U Right On Up for Shot Records, and Tha Source, jointly on Sunset Blvd Entertainment and Funk’s own label Till Ya Tight Records.

California had ‘valley girls’ but in Seattle there was another similar term, ‘prep’ or ‘preppy,’ which usually implied the banal clothing style of a Gap or J Crew catalog mixed with a dash of Miami Vice color. The enjoyable song, “A Prep’s Tale” tells the life of a prep high roller who consorts, “never with a b**** only with a model.” Sexy track four, “Funky Worm” is a shout out to the classic 1972 jam by Ohio Players. Rapper Dee-Lyrious performs on two songs, “Hoo Ride,” which was also featured on the After Dark album, and “Locked Up.” Anti-violence track “Put Away The Clip” featuring Skee shows a mature MC who is trying to renounce his past gang life. Skee’s two other songs, “Funkiest S***” and “On Tha West Side” are also worth checking out.

My favorite track on Funk U Right On Up is the intro titled “Funk Theme.” It is sonically creative, and taps into the turntablist movement of rapid switch ups and beat changes. Samples of Snoop, Run DMC, Pharcyde, and many others swim in and out of this clever beat. Funk Daddy is one of the original hip-hop DJs in Seattle, be sure to look for his other music! Written by Novocaine132

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Tha Source

Maybe it’s the influence of Gifted Gab’s murderous new masterpiece, Cause & Effect, that’s resulted in my listening to a lot of Seattle G-Funk and Gangsta classics lately. Here’s Tha Source by Funk Daddy, released in 1995. Funk has been releasing new music for over 30 years: He produced the eagerly-anticipated 2019 The Mixtape Vol. 2 from Maribased1. At the other end of his timeline, in the ‘80s, he was Greg B from Ready-N-Willin’ and also Kid Sensation’s DJ. Fascinated with Sir Mix-A-Lot’s production prowess, he obtained Mix’s old equipment, but soon realized it’s the player and not the gear, and developed his own unique sound. Listen for that delightful, rubbery, squashy bass and the tickling, squishy highs. (His track “Yo Flow” is golden honey.) Multitalented, he’s also famously won most any DJ, MC, or beat battle he’s been in and was one of the members of hip-hop group Crooked Path. Oh, and in 1995 he produced a bunch of E-40’s platinum-selling record In A Major Way. It was that same year that Funk Daddy dropped this debut CD, a relaxed 15-track romp through Seattle summer. In the lyrics, he’s aware of his baller resume but humble to his roots. (Okay, and yeah, there’s also “Fu?K,” a song about how big his “meat” is.) “When I hit the club, it’s on V.I.P. status…” he raps on “Streets of S.E.A.” while later stating that “The day I can’t roll through the CD… is the day I let my own hood beat me.” There are several hometown anthems here, including the aforementioned “Streets” and creeper “Rainy Day Hustle” that argues for reparations “since I’m from Seattle where it rains all the time.” Funk Daddy—thank you for your long service to the Seattle music scene. Everybody else—This record is on Spotify, so go crank it loud today.

Tha Source was created in and features appearances from:

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