Snoop Dogg is no stranger to g-funk, having pioneered the gangsta rap and funk hybrid on his seminal LPs Doggystyle, Tha Doggfather and beyond in the '90s.
Uncle Snoop makes a return to the subgenre he helped create on 7 Days of Funk, his new funk project with Los Angeles' underground and oft-overlooked funk impresario Dam-Funk.
"When you got the funk, it’s a spirit," says Snoop Dogg aka Snoopzilla for the 7 Days of Funk project. "And the funk can appear out of nowhere and when it happens, either you get funked or get the funk out the way."
For Dam-Funk, who has mostly coasted on the underground LA music scene part of Peanut Butter Wolf's Stones Throw Records family, funk isn't just a fad, it's a lifestyle.
"Like Snoop says, it’s like a music that just continues on," says Dam, born Damon G. Riddick. "And what we’re doing to some of the songs on the album, which you’ll hear, Snoop is taking some different type of writing and lyrical content to put on this style of music, and then, also adding fun and laidback nuances as well, and the laidback nuances are definitely influenced by the G-funk era. So, right now, we’re doing a modern style of funk, but we still keep all the styles of funk that came before us in the mix."
7 Days of Funk is a 7-track project -- well, technically 8-track project with an extra bonus cut, "Systamatic" featuring Snoop brethren Tha Dogg Pound. The only other guests on the EP are former Slave frontman Steve Arrington and Kurupt. In addition to a smoker anthem here and there, the EP surprisingly focuses on love and positivity and them some more love. It's a step further, like his Reincarnated album as Snoop Lion, in the opposite direction for the gangsta rapper once known for rapping about having his mind on his money. For Snoop, 7 Days of Funk is less of a fiscal endeavor than it is a project bearing a positive message.
"Funk is love, if you really listen," says Snoop. "A lot of funk songs were based from love and I think that’s a great spot to come from, to come from love and funk at the same time 'cause it feels good. And, I think that these songs are driven from a place of love. So, whether they’re love songs or not, it was love when we went into making these projects and making these songs. That’s what the ultimate feeling would be at the end of the day, is that love will be the transpired energy that you get."
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