Today, funk legend Bootsy Collins announced his 23rd studio album Album of the Year # 1 Funkateer due out October 25 via Bootzilla Records / Equity Distribution. Today, the groove-filled, exploratory title track is released.
Listen to the single “Album of the Year #1 Funkateer” https://ffm.to/aoty-funkateer
Pre-order Album of the Year #1 Funkateer https://ffm.to/aoty-album
Watch visualizer for “Album of the Year #1 Funkateer” - HERE
Premiered by Rolling Stone this morning alongside an exclusive interview with Bootsy, the single “Album of the Year #1 Funkateer” is a funk-filled jam, which Rolling Stone praised, "with Collins' bulging low end and the heavy rhythms he and his bandmates keep 'on the one,' the track echoes the party-starting funk Collins recorded throughout the Seventies with Parliament-Funkadelic and his own Rubber Band."
Bootsy told Rolling Stone, "I wanted to give the people what they wanted back in the Seventies: a sense of hope, joy and freedom."
On his 23rd studio album Album of the Year #1 Funkateer the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer finds himself in a new position – that of coach and above all, producer. Crafting a sound that sonically runs the Bootsy gamut from bedroom Bootsy, to space-alien adventures to unexpected rock, Collins has drawn together a network of collaborators from Snoop Dogg, Dave Stewart, Wiz Khalifa, October London, Fantaazma and many more who light the fire in him and helped him make the album of the year.
“When I start on a project now, it's about getting the energy from people around me,” says funk maestro Bootsy Collins. “Then I proceed to gather transmissions from the universe to know what to talk about. It's important to me to see who the universe brings to me, and I've been really blessed that every time I want to do a new record, I get these incredible musicians around me, right on time. That's what this album helps me do—Transmitting & receiving with different musicians and artists that have the same desire I had when I was their age.” This open-minded attitude has helped Collins reach new generations for more than five decades.
From his early work bringing a youthful vigor and refreshing James Brown’s backing band as a founding member of the J.B.’s and learning the Power of the One to his seminal work with George Clinton and the Parliament-Funkadelic universe, playing on most of their landmark albums over the next decade and co-writing such classics as "Up for the Down Stroke," "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)," and the chart-topping "Flash Light." He also led the side project Bootsy’s Rubber Band, recording multiple gold-certified albums and the Number One R&B hit “Bootzilla,” and began contributing to recordings by artists including Keith Richards, Iggy Pop, and Herbie Hancock. When Rolling Stone put together their list of the Greatest Bassists of All Time, Bootsy was ranked in the top five.
He collaborated with dance superstars Deee-Lite on their 1990 smash “Groove Is In the Heart,” provided the lead vocal on Fatboy Slim’s Grammy-winning 2000 hit “Weapon of Choice,” and acted as the narrator on Silk Sonic’s 2021 platinum album An Evening with Silk Sonic (he even gave Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak the name for their project).
The seventeen tracks on Album of the Year cover all the bases, from the silly Bootsy (on “Chicken & Fries”) to the sexy Bootsy (“Pure Perfection,” which uses a delivery that Bruno Mars calls “Bedroom Bootsy voice”) to the social commentary of “2Nite we Rise.”
The social commentary is true to Bootsy’s heart – he has spent the past year bringing his mission Funk Not Fight to SXSW, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Compton and his hometown in Cincinnati, with more cities to be announced. The Funk Not Fight project is a growing initiative that encourages peace, creativity, and anti-violence by creating community hubs that provide mental health resources and music studios, among other activations, still being announced.
Album of the Year #1 Funkateer - Track Listing
“Album of the Year #1 Funkateer” feat. Myra Washington and Bootdullivan
“So Soopafly” feat. Ouiwey Collins, Kokane, and Daz Dillinger
“The Influencers” feat. Westcoast Stone, Wiz Khalifa, Dave Stewart, Snoop Dogg, and Fantaazma
“Bubble Pop” feat. Ice Cube, FANTAAZMA, and Brother Nature
“Fishnets” feat. Myra Washington, Kurupt, and Daz
“Satellite” feat. Dave Stewart and Brother Nature
“The JB’s Tribute” feat. Harry Mack, Clyde Stubblefield, John (Jabo) Starks and Fred Wesley
“Ubiquitous” feat. Casper the Funked up Ghost and Kid Talk (Explicit)
“Hondo P” feat. FANTAAZMA and Snoop Dogg
“Chicken & Fries” feat. Soopafly, Myra Washington, BABY TRIGGY, and FANTAAZMA
“Anybody Out There” feat. Myra Washington and Brother Nature
“Pure Perfection” feat. FANTAAZMA, Giz, and Bedroom Bootsy
“Barbie T & Me” feat. Barbie T and Zillatron
“BeWild” feat. Alex Belle, Isis V, and Brother Nature
“Alien Flytrap” feat. Dave Stewart and Bootdullivan
“I.Am.AI” feat. Tobotius, I.AM, and Kid Talk
“Reach the Zone” feat. October London, Musiq Soulchild, and Bedroom Bootsy
“2Nite We Rise” feat. Da'Dreion Murrell, FANTAAZMA, ZGM Precious Praisers, and Casper the Funked up Ghost
