Before South Florida achieved its cocaine cowboy status and notoriety, Miami was known for a vibrant musical community that nurtured nascent Latin fusion sounds, old school soul, funk, R&B and jazz. Miami's historical Overtown district is a shell of its former self but at one point in time, before the I-95 expansion project divided and destroyed the community, it was the birthplace of iconic crooners Sam & Dave and the home of late-night funk joints.
An early performer on this circuit was a young man from Cochran, Georgia who had been busted by his grandma as a wee lad for foul-mouthed parodies of popular music. That man was Clarence Reid; singer, performer, producer, songwriter and general all-around straight-laced smoothie. The beast within that his grandma inadvertently unleashed was the now five-decade strong funk monster known as Blowfly, and that beast is coming to the Firebird tonight for a show starting at 9 p.m.
As the original dirty rapper, Blowfly's 1965 album Rap Dirty easily predates other contenders and while it is true that his form is more an amalgam of funk and ghetto sprechgesang, his influence on all generations of rappers and hip-hoppers since then is undeniable. While the 90's where not an especially productive era for the 'Fly, his rediscovery in the early 2000's by some enterprising punk rockers has led to a comeback backed by scene hitters like Afroman and Jello Biafra.
Now on a short tour of the Midwest where Blowfly promises to make nice white girls think twice about what they've been missing, we had the chance to ask the 'Fly and drummer "Uncle" Tom Bowker a couple of questions about the President and the 2010 documentary, The Weird World of Blowfly.
I had a couple of black girlfriends when I was in college in the late 90's. I can't say that I don't miss it, but since then, for whatever reason, I've gone back. What gives? Blowfly: I was singing to a girl, not a male freak like you! But if you ever get some sugar in your tank and need some dick, I'll bet you go black again!
Ok...
