Dap Dippin' With...

Listening to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings' music without any prior knowledge, you'd probably think that it's a lost slab of classic funk from one of James Brown's Funky Divas. But as with much of the music on funk revivalists Daptone Records, it's 100% contemporary.

This track of theirs is a bit of a barnstormer; transforming Janet Jackson's What Have You Done For Me Lately? into a near unrecognisable sass-fuelled funk bomb, the original's beat turned into a supertight guitar riff. Along with Daptones Records habit of making their album's art and packaging look as authentic as the music within (check their 2002 debut album cover above), they even cheekily suggested that the Janet Jackson song was a cover of an obscure Sharon Jones soul hit from the 60s.

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings – What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Much of the rest of their debut album is of similar quality, taking the original blueprint and keeping the octane high. Despite the authentic sound (the production is perfect, completely sheen-free) it doesn't come across as a work of lazy nostalgia - the Dap Kings keep the music raw and tight, with Sharon Jones belting out like a true soul sister.

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