Ice-T & Charlie Funk vs. The Mighty Mocambos - "BOUNCE THAT A$$" REMIX Music Video & Exclusive 7-inch (Mocambo Records)
As you may recall, The Witzard published comprehensive interviews with both Ice-T & MR.X from EBE NATION, as well as Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band multi-instrumentalist/band leader Björn Wagner right around the same time just a few months back. Now, it appears as though Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band's self-described "alter-ego" or "evil twin" band, The Mighty Mocambos have joined forces with EBE NATION founders Ice-T & Afrika Islam AKA MR.X under his zany Funk-tastic alter-ego, Charlie Funk. Here's how Björn Wagner tells it: "the story is rather short: we met Charlie back with [Afrika] Bambaataa in Hamburg, performed together at Reeperbahn Festival, and recorded "Zulu Walk" & "Battle" in Hamburg. The tracks ended up on The Future Is Here (2011) record." "We kept in touch and recorded more songs for the second album. When Charlie was planning his new label with Ice, he approached us to do this Funk version. Parts of the video were shot in Hamburg, so we could make our video version for the ["Bounce That A$$"] Remix," Wagner continued, referring to The Mighty Mocambos' 2015 album, Showdown. The Mighty Mocambos seemingly still consists of Ben Greenslade-Stanton, Bernhard Hümmer, Nichola Richards, Sascha Weise, Sebastian Drescher, Victor Kohn, and of course, band leader Björn Wagner.
Aside from The Future Is Here & Showdown, The Mighty Mocambos quietly released a 2009 album entitled This Is Gizelle Smith & The Mighty Mocambos on their own Mocambo Records, as well as an assortment of 7-inch singles issued by Favorite Recordings, Légère Recordings, Love Lane, Old Capital, Soul Seed Records, and Tramp Records. Ice-T is, of course, a world-renown emcee and frontman of Thrash/Heavy Metal band, Body Count, as well as an award-winning actor on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) since 2000. Early on in his career, Ice worked closely with Afrika Islam on his first three albums, Rhyme Pays, POWER, and The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say! as well as 1991's O.G. Original Gangster. Now, Ice-T & Afrika Islam have effectively reunited, after years DJ'ing overseas as MR.X, to form a world-class EDM/Hip-Hop label, Electronic Beat Empire AKA EBE NATION, together. MR.X's first two releases on the imprint, The Brutal EP and HIP HOP DJS DONT PLAY TECHNO, are currently available on Ice-T & Afrika Islam's EBE NATION imprint. The Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band's second full-length, The Serpent's Mouth, is currently available on Big Crown Records; while, I hear, The Mighty Mocambos are holed up in Hamburg, Germany earnestly working on their third proper long-player.
