What did the five fingers say to the face?

Form blazing sword!

So yo,
Excuse the extreme rap nerd cliche. But I couldn't (read: didn't try to) come up with anything more fitting for the re-debut of AllThangsFunky, new and improved with five times the blogging power!

Some of y'all may remember me as a guest blogger back when Brother B was updating ATF on the regular. I go by the online persona of TiVo (it's a long story that has to do with pack rat-itis and repeating things people already knew), and in the rebirth I'm just one of the five fingers of death (I haven't decided which one though, most likely the middle).

Basically, I'm from the golden age, and the amount of Hip-Hop minutiae stuck in my dome is only useful when I find like-minded people appreciate it. Brother B and DJ Mentos are two of those dudes, and for as long as I've known them we've been borrowing each other's records and firing e-mail links back and forth. Over time, Oxtail, Sniz Marquis, Mentos, Furious and I evolved into something of an e-mail collective, sending each other and a few others more "peep the advance copy of this" and "download the old-school remix of that" e-mails than I care to admit. Not long ago, we realized there was no need to keep it all to ourselves.

So that's where the Voltron cliche comes in. We all have our individual strengths and interests, but together as one, with a little effort, I can't imagine there'll be many more-ill hip-hop blogs out there. The thing I like most about these cats is they're never the same, but always true. The e-mail I'd get would be a funk download one day, an underground Ghostface mp3 another day and ripping a hip-hop-hating L.A. Times op/ed piece to shreds the next.

In other words, in the interest of killing 15 minutes online and adding a song to my iTunes each day, I'm making AllThangsFunky one of my first stops online just to see what's on the minds of the other four. If you do the same, I guarantee they won't disappoint.

Me? I just plan to contribute "Today's reason to still love hip-hop" on a regular basis. Mostly it'll be whatever song struck my fancy that day -- maybe Young MC, maybe M.O.P. -- but I could definitely see myself venturing into other things -- Kangols, albums without songs you had to skip, scratch-sample hooks.

We're still getting our ideas together (free-for-all or theme weeks, etc.) but we should all be introducing ourselves and getting underway this week. You gotta be feeling the vibe a little bit by now, but to hold you over until the new posts appear, check the archived ATF links at right or hit up Mentos' blog. And bring your ass back some time soon.

-- 'Vo

P.S. If you think your life sucks, be glad you don't walk around cold chillin' in a Voltron costume like this dude: