Hometown Sounds

Jazz keys master Will Rast‘s afrobeat ensemble The Funk Ark made a big entrance with their 2011 album From The Rooftops on Thievery Corporation’s Eighteenth Street Lounge label. The mostly instrumental album featured a stand-out collaboration with Sitali and Asheru called “Funky DC”, a verbal tour through DC’s neighborhoods and landmarks. The languid and trippy funk tune showed up again last year on Asheru’s debut full length album, Sleepless In Soweto, providing an anchor to Ash’s beloved hometown amongst songs recorded in and about South Africa. A distinguished long-timer in the DC rap scene going back to the late 90s with The Unspoken Heard, Asheru also serves as the Director of Arts Integration at Ballou Senior High School in Southeast. All that preamble sets the stage for this kick-ass new music video for “Funky DC”. Ballou High School’s swank marching band kicked off May’s inaugural Funk Parade in the U Street neighborhood that surprised just about everyone with its success and popularity, and Asheru grabbed the opportunity to film this video with the talented youngsters live at the event. This could be the most DC music video ever. We are already looking forward to next year’s Funk Parade!