RJD2 is pleased to announce his return with new album, The Fun Ones, out April 17th on RJ’s Electrical Connections, alongside lead single, “Pull Up On Love,” and its accompanying video. His first album since 2016’s Dame Fortune, The Fun Ones is the seventh solo album in the constantly expanding RJD2 catalog. Assembled as a mixtape using samples taken from a number of conversations with his contemporaries, including Phonte Coleman, J-Zone, Kid Koala, Mr. Lif, and Son Little, The Fun Ones draws largely from the basic DNA of hip-hop and funk music, with heavy brass, plenty of thump, and slick chord changes.
Though The Fun Ones largely emphasizes modern funk and instrumental music, RJ still occasionally flirts with vocal stylings across the album. On “One Of A Kind,” RJ links up with Homeboy Sandman, pushing the levels of syncopation into the red. “A Genuine Gentleman” sees RJ and the king of west coast abstract rhyming, Aceyalone, reuniting on record for the first time since 2006 over a Meter’s-esque groove.
Longtime RJD2 collaborators, STS and Khari Mateen, reconvene on lead single, “Pull Up On Love,” to bring the spirit of James Brown to the quintessential Atlanta rib shack. Jordan Brown steps in to bring a falsetto lilt over a cacophonous drum break that would leave Ginger Baker scratching his chin. “This tune started with some Zigaboo-inspired drums, a nice little sweeping guitar lick, and a bass line that left plenty of space for wherever Slim (aka STS) was gonna take the track,” says RJ. “I purposely left some room to fill out the track once the vocals were in place. So when Slim sent it back to me, and Khari had did his thing on it, it had such a great vibe to it that I didn’t want to drench the track in production tricks and overdubs. I wanted the vocal performances to shine, so I basically cleaned up the mix, did a few breakdowns, and left it as is. It was great for the three of us to link up once again, since it had been years since we did ‘See You Leave’.”
RJ, STS, Mateen, and Brown all appear in the song’s accompanying video, filmed at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, alongside Chuck Palmer on drums, and Stephen Greenberg on bass.
Watch RJD2’s Video for “Pull Up On Love” –
https://youtu.be/8uxL0xhRQBk
RJD2 will play select dates in support of The Fun Ones this spring, including dates in Seattle, San Diego, Austin, Columbus, Brooklyn, and Boston at Boston Calling Music Festival. A full list of dates are below, with all shows on-sale now.
Pre-order The Fun Ones –
https://orcd.co/rjd2thefunones
The Fun Ones Tracklist:
01. No Helmet Up Indianola
02. Indoor S’mores
03. 20 Grand Palace
03. One of a Kind
05. High Street Will Never Die
06. Pull Up On Love
07. All I’m After
08. Flocking To The Nearest Machine
09. And It Sold For 45k
10. The Freshmen Lettered
11. A Genuine Gentleman
12. Itch Ditch Mission
13. My Very Own Burglar Neighbor
14. A Salute To Blood Bowl Legends
RJD2 Tour Dates:
Fri. March 20 – Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge
Sat. March 21 – San Diego, CA @ Music Box
Thu. April 9 – Austin, TX @ Empire Control Room & Garage
Fri. April 10 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theatre
Sat. April 25 – Columbus, OH @ Otherworld
Sun. April 26 – Cincinnati, OH @ Urban Artifact
Fri. May 22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
Sat. May 23 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling Music Festival
Keep your mind open.
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