Description
Righteous Funk is the third album by the American hip-hop group D.O.C. (a.k.a. Disciples of Christ), released on StarSong Records in 1994, distributed by Chordant Distribution Group. D.O.C. is Alton Hood (Ben Reges), Michael Brown (Prophet), and Kelvin Harvey (Absalom).
Since Disciples of Christ first hit the Christian music scene in 1991, the trio has been taking a musical journey. The multi-talented group comprised of Michael Brown, Alton Hood and Kelvin Harvey has combined elements of hip-hop, R&B and rap while molding its own unique gospel brand. With its third project, ‘Righteous Funk’, D.O.C. once again teams with Tedd T. and Rodney “Drac” Gibson on eight of the 12 tracks.
While D.O.C.’s working ministry has predominantly been aimed towards young people outside the church walls, ‘Righteous Funk’ spends much of its lyrical content on various aspects of Christian life. This concept is evident from the start with patented D.O.C. grooves «My Melody» (“There’s got to be a change/ From your normal thing/ ‘Cause once you know about Jesus/ Your heart will always sing”) and «Do Your Part» (“God’s not asking very much of you/ All He’s asking you/ Is that you do your part”).
The next three tracks presents a potpourri of ’80s funk influences – from the clever sample of Prince’s «Kiss» in appropriately-titled «K.I.S.S.» (Keeping it Strictly Simple) and the hints of Cameo on «Come 2 Gether» to the Teddy Riley-esque flair of «Wrapped Up». But any tastes of the past are put into perspective with lead singer Brown’s distinguishable vocals, displayed prominently from beginning to end.
The project’s most-pleasant surprise and probably the next radio hit for D.O.C. features a Brown and Veronica Petrucci duet on the soulful ballad «Me 4 U». Both Veronica and husband Angelo lend background vocals to a handful of tracks in support of the trio’s steadily-improving harmonic blend.
‘Righteous Funk’s latter offerings pay tribute to the ’70s and the birth of funk with help from one of the original ‘funkateers,’ Bootsy Collins, most noted for his membership in George Clinton’s legendary Parliament/Funkadelic. While the funky tracks are enjoyable and bring back memories of Earth, Wind & Fire and Midnight Star, D.O.C. shines brightest under the comparatively scaled-down (but nonetheless funky) production efforts of Tedd T. and Drac. In the end, ‘Righteous Funk’ proves true to its title as D.O.C.’s most balanced and most mature effort to date and offers hip-hop, R&B and rap fans alike one of the funkiest releases of the year. [Chad Bonham, CCM, January 1995]
Those who mistakenly think “gangsta rap” is the only game in town (these people usually have the luxury of forming their opinions without the reference points of listening to the radio or actually buying the discs they’re talking about) will probably pass on the new D.O.C., ‘Righteous Funk’, which strikes me as something of what a New Edition reunion would sound like: Side One, more or less, follows the sweet urban pop trail left by the likes of New Edition alumni Bobby Brown and Johnny Gill; Side Two, more or less, follows the darker, grittier path of New Edition alum Bell Biv Devoe.
D.O.C. are at their best when they focus on their knack for melodies and their rich harmonies – these guys have great voices. Their hip-hop tracks tend to become monotonous (although still as interesting as a lot of the hip-hop that sells in the mainstream and gets played on urban and CHR radio).
But D.O.C. truly excels with tracks like the funky «Wrapped Up», or the late-at-night/quiet storm «Me 4 U» (with Disciple Michael Brown blending his voice sweetly with guests Angelo & Veronica). The funk tracks for the second half are also of interest, even to urban fans who don’t get much out of rap, such as «Wind Me Up», co-written and produced by funkateer Bootsy Collins himself, who also produced and co-wrote the haunting/almost-creepy «Hollywood», which is packed to the gills with clever musical and literary allusions all over the place (including a reference to Shakespeare up front). It’s a brilliant track – everytime you think you’ve figured the song out, something new gets thrown in.
Overall, ‘Righteous Funk’ shows D.O.C. as a collective that grows with each release – with the right inroads and the right marketing, someday they might actually storm urban/CHR radio pretty capably. And while their lyrics only occasionally surprise us (a flaw of even some of the giants in this genre), that just gives them something else to work on. [Chris Well, Syndicate # 42, 1994 (Vol. 9)]
> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/righteous-funk/716249155)
CD tracklist:
01. My Melody – 4:04
02. Do Your Part – 3:41
03. K.I.S.S. – 3:53
04. Come 2 Gether – 4:05
05. Wrapped Up – 4:37
06. Me 4 U – 4:22
07. To Da Dome – 3:43
08. Wind Me Up – 4:47
09. Stay – 4:01
10. Hollywood – 4:57
11. Right Way – 4:25
12. Wind Me Up Reprise – 3:13
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by StarSong Records.
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