The loops for the troops, more bounce to the ounce*

While not perhaps the greatest example of the so-called G-Funk sound that you will ever come across, one of the most widely known records to bump the west coast funk is of course 2pac’s massive-selling “California Love”. And while the song itself has its merits and its own tales to tell as to where it sits in the respective canons of 2pac and beat-master Dr Dre, not to mention its place in the convoluted Death Row story, a crucial third element of the tune’s creation often goes relatively unheralded.

The element to which I refer is of course the appearance within the song of legendary funkateer and Zapp frontman Roger Troutman and his trademark vocoder talkbox, the alien funk that drives the chorus and gives the song its quirky standout character. There can be little doubt upon hearing the pounding piano lick, fat bassline and filtered exhortation to “shake it shake it” that California does indeed know how to party. But rather than triggering a late-career renaissance for Troutman and the Zapp band, prompting a new generation to rediscover their quite brilliant output, the appearance on “California Love” proved to be a last hurrah of sorts for Troutman himself. Only three years later he was dead, the victim of a murder-suicide by his own brother and co-founder and member of Zapp, Larry Troutman.

The murderous event, which took place in April 1999, is still unexplained, with family members (including the remaining Troutman brothers and Zapp alumni Terry, Lester and Tony) still unable to say why the bizarre episode of violence took place. And so it will remain something of an unexplained tragedy, a strange and unwelcome epilogue to a quite extraordinary musical career. For as Zapp the Troutmans, and in particularly lead singer Roger, have a musical legacy which deserves some real plaudits and close attention. And far from being a musical novelty, Roger Troutman’s use of the vocoder deserves special praise, for he was a true innovator in the use of this strangely alluring instrument, forging a musically creditable approach which has influenced a myriad of artists since, including of course the G-Funk genre. Snoop’s recent “Ego Trippin” offering is just the latest in a long line of records that illustrates the effectiveness of this instrument, but for the winning entry surely we have to come to Dre’s Blackstreet production “No Diggitty”, a killer in every sense.

However, I digress, but the point is that there can be little argument, from EPMD’s “You Gots To Chill” to Biggie’s “Going Back To Cali” (each sampling the massive Zapp hit “More Bounce To The Ounce”) that Troutman’s influence is significant, particularly in rap music, and within and without the world of G-Funk.

And so what of Zapp’s music itself for the uninitiated? Well, put simply, it is damn, damn funky. Protégés of none other than the incredible Parliament-Funkadelic, and inspired by hometown heroes the Ohio Players (two of the funkiest outfits to ever lay to wax), Zapp are criminally under-represented in the funk hierarchy. Formed in 1978, debut album “Zapp” was released in 1980, and simply blew the funk sound into new waters. Contemporaries such as Rick James, the SOS Band, Cameo and The Gap Band have all made their own significant contributions to the dense, layered funk of the early 1980s, but Zapp arguably did it all first, and best, and all with a vocoded twist that enhances rather than irritates.

Hit single from the debut offering, “More Bounce To The Ounce” is the prime example, but it is also worth noting that the group also slowed down and sexed up the sound. Ballads such as “Be Alright” and the later “Computer Love” are epic in their own way, and prove the versatility of the band, and of Roger as a lead singer and composer.

There are too many highlights to choose, and for an entry point the best bet is probably the compilation “Zapp & Roger * All The Greatest Hits”, a collection that brings together the finest work of the group in all of its guises, and also of Roger Troutman as a solo artist. “So Ruff, So Tuff”, “Dance Floor”, “Doo Wa Ditty” and the incredible take on “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, the record grooves from start to finish. Even a bizarre mega-mix of tunes to close has an appealing quality, even to just prove how many great beats these guys had. It is actually quite rare to come across true innovators, and to my mind Zapp were exactly that. Perhaps not the most lauded, but certainly worthy of attention.

Call it space-age soul, call it futuristic funk, call it galactic groove or just call it too damn funky. Worth it’s weight in gold and then some. After all, they’re the boys with more bounce to the ounce, and that’s just the weigh it is.