Youngblood Brass Band
American collective Youngblood Brass Band has its roots in traditional New Orleans brass music, but the band adds an extra layer of grooves on top of that. In doing so, they create a mix of hip hop, drum & b(r)ass, and Latin. Sometimes they do so with a foray into punk, but they always remain true to funk.
This American ten-piece, which saw the light of day in the year 2000 in Madison, Wisconsin, has since grown into a dedicated and highly prominent party institution. Or as they put it themselves: “flouts convention in an ecstatic raucous incendiary fashion… a punked-out hip-hop behemoth of groove and purpose… crash course in genre-bending…”.
The members of this hip-hop brass band create a spirited mix of jazz, funk, hip hop, and traditional New Orleans brass. Think of a marching band, but much cooler. Their songs sound like well-organized chaos, which is not surprising given the number of band members. Youngblood Brass Band is equipped with an impressive arsenal of instruments, including an extensive brass section that includes a saxophone, trombone, trumpet, and sousaphone. Add some rousing percussion and spoken word with a message, and you get energetic music.
Questlove of The Roots has been a fan from the very beginning, as has Talib Kweli, with whom the members of Youngblood Brass Band have even collaborated.
