RICKEY VINCENT.COM

Party Music explores the connections between Black Power and Soul Music, uncovering the rhythms of the revolution.  From James Brown to Jimi Hendrix, revolution was in the air, and PARTY MUSIC lets you breathe it all in!  What makes Party Music so important is that it features the story of the Black Panther Party's own soul/funk band The Lumpen. Through exclusive interviews, relentless research and a colorful style, readers get taken on a trip through the revolutionary politics of the Black Panther Party and the uprising rhythms of the top artists of the late 1960s to tell an essential story of a people awakening to their own soul power!

 

(above: The Lumpen in performance in Oakland, November 1970.)

"Rickey Vincent, The Funk Master of the radio air waves has merged together in his book Party Music a wealth of comprehensive knowledge and insights about Panther Party Music and the history from which it evolved.   Rickey masters the art of interviewing and writing about the revolutionaries in Party Music with the same will power and self determination as the Funk Masters he writes about, an amazing achievement."

Emory Douglas

Former Minister of Culture & Revolutionary Artist,

Black Panther Party, 1967-1981

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the complete review from Davey D on Party Music.  An abridged version is on the back cover:

 

There are not enough words to describe the groundbreaking analysis and in depth musical and political history lessons skillfully laid out by the Rickey 'The Uhuru Maggot' Vincent' in his new book Party Music. This book not only brings to life the overlooked contributions of the Black Panthers funk band the Lumpen, but it also captures, the hopes, triumphs, challenges, victories and setbacks of a generation that was determined to find its voice during one of our country's most turbulent times..

 

Party Music is not just about the Lumpen but also about the Black power Movement and Freedom struggles they were a part of.. This book breathes new life into the many of the organizations and leaders who bravely challenged the system and have been all but removed from current versions of our History books. From The Black Panthers to US to the Black Arts Movement to SNCC.. No stone is left unturned.

 

Where Rickey shines best is his breakdown of the music heroes and sheroes who were influenced and oftentimes a part of the Freedom struggle.. from Chaka Khan to Aretha Franklin to James Brown to Sam Cooke to Mtume,  from Motown to Stax, Vincent doesn't miss a beat. Each word is a searing drum beat Each paragraph is a thumping bassline that leaves you holding up a clenched fist yelling Black Power and making one proud of the history Vincent unearths. This book is a serious game changer.

 

Davey D

Hip Hop Historian Journalist

SF State, Hard Knock Radio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s not common knowledge that the fiery Black Panthers organization had a rocking house band, the Lumpen, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but Vincent (Funk) sets the record straight in this book about a tight-knit group of activist musicians who sang their revolutionary ideology to the community. Although the band performed for less than a year, Vincent, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley, stresses the important role of music in black culture at that time, with the Lumpen piggybacking on the triumphs of James Brown, Sam Cooke, and Aretha Franklin, giving high-energy performances “of blackness, hyper-masculinity and hyperbole, of smack talk that put the Man in his place and exalted everything gloriously black.” If this well-detailed book accurately chronicles the funky black power groove of the Panther band, it truly succeeds in recapturing the mood of that turbulent time when Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, and Eldridge Cleaver and the Black Panther Party stole national attention with their bravado and purpose. Comprehensive, complex, and revealing, Vincent’s nostalgic journey provides an insider’s look at a remarkable band and a piercing snapshot of black history.

Publishers Weekly

 

 

 

There are more reviews of Party Music on the book page here, as well as a look at Rickey Vincent's teaching work, his speaking engagements, television appearances, and funky music hosting events and so much more!  Check it out!  

 

Special Thanks to Ren "Ren the Vinyl Archeologiist" for getting this New Look website started!

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHECK OUT BOTH OF MY BOOKS