JBabun
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JBabun

New York City, New York, United States | SELF

New York City, New York, United States | SELF
Band Latin Funk

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"A BUNCH OF RANDOM CD'S FROM LAMC 2012"

Of the whole pile of CDs this is the one I was the most excited about and looking forward to listen to. Partly because of the cool art cover design, partly because of the reference to Brazilian funk (Jorge Ben, Tim Maia, Ed Motta) I heard from the mouth of the guy who handed it to me on my first day at the conference. I love all things Brazil and most things funk and the converging point between those two is like the ultimate formula for eargasm, in my book at least. From the get-go it got my attention with a very James Brown-esque intro and it had all the right ingredients to keep my attention in place except for one thing: the trite, cliché, cheesy lyrics. I love funky beats, but sometimes it's too hard for me to get through it if the lyrics are common place or just plain lame. I feel the exact same way towards a lot of Los Amigos Invisibles stuff (although, I have to say, those guys, or at least DJ Afro, have a great sense of humor to compensate) so this reminded me a lot of the Venezuelans-in-New York combo (JBabun is, by the way a Puerto Rican with a Brazilian fetish in New York). That being said, of all the debut CDs I've got, this is definitely the one with the most potential, I really hope they keep it up, they tighten up the lyrics department a bit more while keeping the beats equally funky and there's definitely some awesome music that could come out from here. Was I a major label with lots of money to throw away, I'd sign them to a development deal, no doubt. - Hard Data, Juan Data


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JBabun

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JBabun is a shining force of pure Latin Soul, brewed in his native Puerto Rico and seasoned in the streets of New York. Together with his 8-person backing band, The Cabasas, he makes Spanish-language funk that’s seriously fresh and groovy-as-hell. The band takes elements from Nigerian Afrobeat, Nuyorican Salsa and Brazilian Tropicalia and blends them into a sound both dangerous and danceable. He is the forgotten love-child of James Brown, The Fania All-Stars, and Jorge Ben. Fathers, hold on to your daughters.

JBabun grew up in San Juan on a diet of US and Latin sounds, but his musical mission changed shape when he started digging into vintage Brazilian cuts at the East Village record shop Tropicalia in Furs.After tearing through vinyl from Tim Maia, Jorge Ben and Marcos Valle he became a man on a mission. He studied traditional Brazilian rhythms and eventually began to compose songs in Spanish around them. The result is something that, somehow, hasn’t quite been done before: a translation of golden-era Brazilian pop to New York’s growing retro-soul and Latin alternative scenes.

With a massive horn section and one of the baddest rhythm sections around in planet Brooklyn, JBabun and the Cabasas delivers a party so deep, you might not be able to return!!!