Hear Dam Funk’s Bouncy ‘We Continue’ Off New Album ‘Invite the Light’
Six years after Dâm-Funk revived the G-Funk era with his epic 2009 debut Toeachizown, the Los Angeles producer finally returns with his long-in-the-works second studio album Invite the Light. Damon Riddick’s 20-track new LP, due out September 4th, will feature guest appearances by his 7 Days of Funk cohort Snoop Dogg, Ariel Pink, Nite Jewel, Kid Sister, Jody Watley, Ohio Players’ Junie Morrison and, on a pair of tracks, rapper Q-Tip.
Stones Throw, the producer’s label, describes Invite the Light as “a concise, beginning-to-end vision that’s resulted in a loosely autobiographical concept album inspired by the trials and tribulations of [Dâm-Funk’s] personal and professional life of the last six years.” First single “We Continue” recalls the vocal melody from Riddick’s standalone single “Hood Pass Intact,” but complete with an extra dose of speaker-rattling bass, cascading synths and a Garry Shider-level guitar solo. “No matter what you been through / Stay strong and always stand tall,” Dâm-Funk sings on the funk anthem. “Don’t you ever stop / We continue.”
While Dâm-Funk hasn’t released a proper full-length solo follow-up to 2009’s Toeachizown, he has been active in recent years. In addition to his 7 Days of Funk with Snoop Dogg (or Snoopzilla, as the rapper is called on the album) and the early demoes collection Adolescent Funk, Riddick has also dropped a series of EPs: 2010’s Hood Pass Intact, 2011’s InnaFocusedDaze, 2012’s I Don’t Wanna Be a Star! and his Invite the Light predecessor STFU EP. He also collaborated with Slave’s Steve Arrington and worked with Nite Jewel on their Nite Funk side project.
Dâm-Funk will also embark on a tour of western North America this September in support of Invite the Light. Check out the album’s track list and tour dates below:
Invite the Light Track List
1. “Junie’s Transmission” [Feat. Junie Morrison]
2. “We Continue”
3. “Somewhere, Someday”
4. “I’m Just Tryna’ Survive (In The Big City)” [Feat. Q-Tip]
5. “Survelliance Escape”
6. “Floating On Air”
7. “HowUGonFu*kAroundAndChooseABusta’?”
8. “The Hunt & Murder of Lucifer”
9. “It Didn’t Have To End This Way”
10. “Missing U”
11. “Acting” [Feat. Ariel Pink]
12. “O.B.E.”
13. “Glyde 2nyte” [Feat. Leon Sylvers III & IV]
14. “Just Ease Your Mind From All Negativity” [Feat. Snoop Dogg]
15. “Virtuous Progression” [Feat. JimiJames, Kid Sister, Nite Jewel, Novena Carmel & Jody Watley]
16. “Scatin’ (Toward The Light)”
17. “Junie’s Re-Transmission” [Feat. Junie Morrison]
18. “I’m Just Tryna’ Survive (In The Big City) Party Version” [Feat. Q-Tip]
19. “‘Kaint Let ‘Em Change Me”
20. “The Acceptance”
Dâm-Funk Tour Dates
September 4 – San Diego @ The Casbah
September 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
September 6 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
September 8 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
September 10 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue Nightclub
September 12 – Jackson City, WY @ Pink Garter Theatre
September 13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
September 15 – Denver, CO @ Cervantes
September 16 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister
September 18 – Las Vegas @ Bunkhouse