Album Notes

Rhythm Republik

'Progressive BLACKMUZIK' 4 the SOUL

Rhythm Republik is an institution. A New York City self-contained original music entity. The 'MUZIK' is FUNK based yet decidedly diverse. The lyrics are deep and hit you with an energy that cannot be explained, only experienced. "They bring a message from the grass root to the powers that be," says Jane Perk their longtime advisor. This ensemble remains a source for commentary on social and political ideas for culture-at-large for over a decade!

Introspection, reflection and resurrection swirl positively from their creative space. Guitars cut like knives and paint the sky! Keyboards drip with melody, harmony and finga-lickin' hot sauce! Drums and Bass hold steady together like a heartbeat, giving hip-shaking fits for all! Vocals ring like a choir of street corner shouters sanctified, political and randy! Occasional brass cover the senses with a beautiful sheen and punctuate the overall sound of this ensemble!!!

Rhythm Republik has been an opening act for the following: Teena Marie, Fertile Ground, Steel Pulse, Julie Dexter, The Family Stand, The Funky Meters, Leo Nocentelli, Zapp & Roger Troutman (late), Bernie Worrell and the Woo Warriors, the Last Poets and The Wallflowers (Jakob Dylan)

They Celebrate the 'proper' release of their debut CD "Soul Congregation Rising"!

Some Reviews:

"Very few new millennium artists understand that
so-called genres are imposed to keep musicans locked
in a box. Led by Mabili Kregg Ajamu, the New York
based group Rhythm Republik refuses to be regulated by
style barriers. Whether fusing reggae riffs with
soul-boy grooves ("Never Put Me Under), personal
commentary with gutbucket guitars ("Daddy, I Wonder")
and melodic balladry with cool jazz undertones
("Secretly"), the Rhythm Republik collective offers
the listener an ocean of grooves. Beyond aqua boogie
and serpentine fire, their debut disc Soul
Congregation Rising represents the New Funk."

Michael A. Gonzales/ Popmatters.com Music Columnist
On the Corner April, 2005

"Led by MABILI Kregg Ajamu, Progressive Black music spiritual force and impresario, this Gotham sextet deploys their 21st century classic funk to resurrect the Black Romantic. The romanticism is not about escape but a remembrance of an era when the streets valued community more and engaged struggle was the blood-duty of aware folk of color. Not just knee-deep in infectious grooves, incantatory vocals and flamboyant threads, the diverse, dedicated band strives to give crucial voice to the grassroots in wartime, reminding the 'powers that be' that a Rhythm Republik is what this land always has been...and ---if these brothers and sisters have their way ---always shall be."

-Kandia Crazy Horse, May 2005
Author- Rip It Up: The Black Experience in Rock 'n' Roll (Macmillan press 2004) Dixie-Fried blog, Village Voice & Rolling Stone


Now and forever, they remain dedicated, seasoned, and on a mission.