Trouble Funk

American band

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Trouble Funk

Origin| Washington D.C., United States
Genres|

* Funk
* go-go
* old-school hip hop

Instruments|

* Electric guitar
* bass
* trombone
* trumpet
* saxophone
* drums
* keyboards

Years active| 1978–present
Labels|

* Sugar Hill
* Island
* Infinite Zero
* American Recordings

Members| Timothius "Tee-Bone" David
Big Tony Fisher
others
Past members| Emmett "EJ Roxx" Nixon
Mack Carey
Timothius "Tee-Bone" David
Chester "Boogie" Davis
Big Tony Fisher
James "Doc" Avery
Gerald Reed
Robert "Syke Dyke" Reed
Taylor "Monster Baby" Reed
David Rudd

Trouble Funk is an American R&B and funk band from Washington, D.C.[1] The group helped to popularize funk and the subgenre go-go in the Washington metropolitan area.[1] Among the band's well-known songs is the go-go anthem "Hey, Fellas". They released several studio albums including Drop the Bomb, In Times of Trouble, Live, and Trouble Over Here Trouble Over There (UK No. 54),[2] and two live albums, Trouble Funk: Straight Up Go-Go Style and Saturday Night Live. In 1982, they released a single "So Early in the Morning" on D.E.T.T Records, later reissued on diverse labels as 2.13.61 and Tuff City. Trouble Funk sometimes shared the stage with hardcore punk bands of the day such as Minor Threat and the Big Boys.

Trouble Funk's song "Pump Me Up" was sampled by many other artists, including Dimples D.'s one-hit wonder "Sucker DJ", which went to No. 1 in Australia, Public Enemy's "Fight the Power", Kurtis Blow's song "If I Ruled the World" and M.A.R.R.S.'s song "Pump Up the Volume". The song is also featured in the film Style Wars and on the fictional old-school hip hop radio station Wildstyle in the game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Keyboard player Robert "Syke Dyke" Reed died at the age of 50 on April 13, 2008, from pancreatic cancer.[3]

Trouble Funk remains active in the Washington, D.C. area live-music scene.

## Discography

[edit]

### Albums

[edit]

* Live (also titled as Straight Up Funk Go Go Style) (Jamtu Records, 1981)
* Drop the Bomb (Sugar Hill, 1982)
* In Times of Trouble (D.E.T.T. Records, 1983)
* Saturday Night Live (Island Records, 1983)
* Say What! (Island, 1986)
* Trouble Over Here (Island, 1987)
* Early Singles (Infinite Zero, 1997)
* Droppin' Bombs (Harmless, 1998)
* E Flat Boogie (Funky Delicacies, 2000)
* The Complete Collection of Trouble Funk (TF Records, 2015)

### Charted songs

[edit]

Title  | Year  | Peak chart positions  | Album

|
|
|

R&B
[4] | NL
[5] | UK
[6]
"E-Flat Boogie"  | 1980  | 72  | —  | —  | Non-album single
"Hey Fellas"  | 1982  | 63  | —  | —  | Drop the Bomb
"Trouble Funk Express"  | 1983  | 77  | —  | —  | Non-album single
"Drop the Bomb"  | 1985  | —  | —  | 99  | Say What?
"Still Smokin'"  | 80  | —  | 79  | Non-album singles
"Good to Go"  | 1986  | 66  | —  | —
"Woman of Principle"  | 1987  | —  | 39  | 65  | Trouble Over Here
"Trouble"  | —  | —  | 95
"Trouble Still Smoking"  | —  | —  | 99  | Non-album single
"—" denotes a song that did not chart or was not released in that region.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 346\. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
2. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 567\. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
3. ^ Sisario, Ben (April 23, 2008). "Robert Reed, Band Keyboard Player, Dies at 50". The New York Times.
4. ^ Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart positions:
* "Hey Fellas": "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. May 28, 1982. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
* "Trouble Funk Express": "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. July 1, 1983. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
* "Still Smokin'": "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. November 2, 1985. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
* "Good to Go'": "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. August 30, 1986. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
5. ^ "Discografie Trouble Funk". Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Retrieved September 28, 2023.
6. ^ "Trouble Funk". Official Charts. Retrieved September 28, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Trouble Funk discography at Discogs
* Trouble Funk at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Trouble Funk

Studio albums|

* Drop the Bomb
* In Times of Trouble
* Trouble Over Here

Live albums|

* Live
* Saturday Night Live
* Say What!

Compilation albums|

* Early Singles
* Droppin' Bombs
* All the Way Live
* E Flat Boogie
* Live & Early Singles
* The Complete Collection of Trouble Funk

Related articles|

* Go-Go Crankin'
* Good to Go soundtrack
* Go Go Live at the Capital Centre
* The Go Go Posse
* Streetwise soundtrack

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI

National|

* United States

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

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