Washington, D.C., has been home to many prominent musicians and is particularly known for the musical genres of Jazz, Rhythm & Blues, bluegrass, punk rock and its locally-developed descendants hardcore and emo, and a local funk genre called go-go. The first major musical figure from District of Columbia was John Philip Sousa, a military brass band composer. Later figures include jazz musicians, such as Duke Ellington, Charlie Rouse, Buck Hill, Ron Holloway, Davey Yarborough, Michael A. Thomas, Butch Warren, and DeAndrey Howard; soul musicians, including Billy Stewart, The Unifics, The Moments, Ray, Goodman & Brown, Van McCoy, The Presidents, The Choice Four, Vernon Burch, guitarist Charles Pitts, and Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul.
Funker Vogt is a German electronic-industrial music project with an aggressive style, formed by vocalist Jens Kästel and programmer Gerrit Thomas in 1995. Other members of the band are keyboardist/manager Björn Böttcher, live guitarist Frank Schweigert and lyricist Kai Schmidt. The name of the band translates from German to English as "Radio Operator Vogt", this being the surname of a friend of the band who was a military radio operator.
Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.
Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley is a Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper. He is the recipient of four Grammy Awards.
"Redemption Song" is a song by Jamaican singer Bob Marley. It is the final track on Bob Marley and the Wailers' twelfth album, Uprising, produced by Chris Blackwell and released by Island Records. The song is considered one of Marley's greatest works. Some key lyrics derived from a speech given by the Pan-Africanist orator Marcus Garvey titled "The Work That Has Been Done", which Marley publicly recited as early as July 1979 during his appearance at the Amandla Festival.
Zach Sciacca, better known as DJ Z-Trip, is an American DJ and producer. He is a pioneer of the mashup movement.
Donovan Letts is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band Big Audio Dynamite with former Clash lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist Mick Jones, acting as the band's sampler and videographer before departing the band in 1990.
Robert Nesta Marley was a Jamaican reggae singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of the genre, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide and made him a global figure in popular culture. He became known as a Rastafarian icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. Marley is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music and culture and identity and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms. Marley also supported the legalisation of cannabis and advocated for Pan-Africanism. In 1976, Marley survived an assassination attempt in his home, which was believed to be politically motivated.
Buckethead is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Buckethead's extensive solo discography currently includes 31 studio albums, one live album, two expended plays, five special releases, six demo tapes, & four DVD releases. Since 2011, Buckethead started releasing albums in the "Pikes" series, mini-albums usually around 30 minutes in length, each with a sequential number similar to a comic book. Buckethead has released 655 Pike albums, 175 of which are live albums.
Iason Chronis, better known as Mason, is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He had a number one on the UK Dance Singles Chart in 2007 with his track "Exceeder". Exceeder had originally been an instrumental and had received a vinyl-only release in the UK in 2006. The new version of the track, "Perfect (Exceeder)", is a mashup with American rapper Princess Superstar's song "Perfect" and reached number 3 on the national British chart in January 2007. The track was a big hit in many countries worldwide. He also had chart success in 2011 with his song "Runaway"—which is a modern version of "Runaway" by Eruption, and "Boadicea", featuring Róisín Murphy—in 2016 with "Fashion Killa", and with many club releases since. Mason is the owner of the record label Animal Language.
"Iron Lion Zion" is a song written and recorded in April 1973 or 1974 by Jamaican singer and songwriter Bob Marley. It was first released posthumously on 7 September 1992 on the Songs of Freedom box set, reaching number five in the UK Singles Chart. The single also peaked within the top 10 in Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Iron Lion Zion" peaked at number eight. Outside Europe, it reached number two in New Zealand, number 71 in Australia and number 11 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. A remixed version was released as a single and later included in 1995 on Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On.
Bob Rosa is an American record producer who has worked with artists such as Madonna, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and Espen Lind. One of his first recording projects was working on the track "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force in 1982.
Radio Free DC is the debut studio album of electronic music group Fort Knox Five. It was recorded in the band's hometown of Washington, D.C. The concept of Radio Free DC is that the listener is scanning the radio dial and encountering different sounds from Washington, D.C., including jingles and banter from radio jockeys interspersed throughout the album. The music video for the first single Funk 4 Peace debuted on October 24.
Jah Roots were a reggae band from Springfield, Missouri. The band was active from 2001 to 2009. They released several albums under the independent label GanJah Records, with a local and international following. Jah Roots broke up in 2009. Since then, lead singer Josh Heinrichs has established a successful solo career.
Kraak & Smaak is a musical production trio from the town of Leiden, Netherlands, consisting of Oscar de Jong, Mark Kneppers and Wim Plug. The three began recording in 2003. Their first album, titled Boogie Angst, was released in the UK 2006, and they began performing at music festivals and at clubs in the US and UK. Their songs were played on the radio and were used in television shows. Their second album, released in 2008, was titled Plastic People. They won an EBBA. Their third album, Electric Hustle, was released in 2011.
A.Skillz is an English electronic musician.
Sila and the Afrofunk Experience is an Afrofunk band formed in 2003.
Smoove & Turrell are a British group hailing from Gateshead in the North East of England. They play a style of music they describe as "Northern Funk" - a contemporary fusion of funk, soul, northern soul, hip-hop and electronica.
Alistair Bennett, professionally known as Ali B, is an English disc jockey, radio presenter and producer. He is a former resident DJ at Fabric in London and is the owner of Air Recordings. He has released numerous singles and extended plays. He has also worked in radio for over a decade, hosting regular shows for Capital FM, Kiss FM and BBC 6.
The Funk Hunters are a Canadian electronic music act and DJ duo based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Composed of members Nick Middleton and Duncan Smith, The Funk Hunters are recognized on the international dance scene for their future funk sound, which is a mix of old school soul, disco, funk and classic hip hop, deeply cross-pollinated with contemporary electronic dance music.
