Janet told me yesterday that I should remake “Trunk of Funk” in its entirety, and post the whole thing here on Radio Pye. TOF was a cassette tape mix that I made a year or so after high school. It consisted of probably 20 early 90’s rap songs (the golden age as far as I am concerned) and was copied and handed around many times. I’m not gonna do the whole thing, but I’ll do one. I’ll do one.
An oddly named single from De La Soul’s second album, De La Soul Is Dead (“…One of the most progressive, complex and boldly experimental albums hip hop has ever seen.”), A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays “seamlessly incorporates Chicago, Chic and Franki Valli samples into a taut, scratch-heavy disco jam“. The video features Pos, Trugoy and Maceo and guest rapper Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest surrounded by roller skaters on a sunny day in Central Park.
This song would easily make my top 10 list of favorite rap songs of all time. It is so happy, infectious and funky it’s almost hard to resist strapping on skates and looking aimlessly for some long since torn down rink. Whenever I hear this song, I am instantly brought back in time – driving around in my ’79 Chevy Malibu, listening to TOF on the yellow Sony Sport boom box that’s plugged into my rusty cigarette lighter. And I desperately want to get back to 2005. Not really. Pass the peas like they used to say…
Come on everybody, wear your rollerskates today