Search - Zapp :: Zapp VII: Roger & Friends

Zapp salutes the late Roger Troutman on 'Zapp VII: Roger & Friends'. The album continues the band's 40-year legacy of funk with special guest appearances by Bootsy Collins, Frankie J., Tuxedo, Kurupt and Snoop Dogg. Back in 1978, four brothers out of Dayton, Ohio - Roger, Larry, Lester and Terry Troutman - formed the electro-funk band Zapp with the single-minded purpose of getting people out on the dance floor. Their 1980 self-titled debut, produced by Bootsy Collins and with input from P-Funk founder George Clinton, went gold and their influential hit single, "More Bounce to the Ounce", would later be sampled by the next generation of rappers and hip-hop stars, including EPMD, The Notorious B.I.G., Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and Snoop Dogg, among many others. Now the funkateers are back with 'Zapp VII: Roger & Friends', which celebrates the 40-year legacy of the band while paying homage to the creative genius of Roger Troutman. With Roger's signature talk box and synth bass lines in full effect on tunes like "Rock Ya Body" (featuring Mr. Talkbox), "Shy" (with Tuxedo), "Make It Funky" (with Bootsy Collins), "Red & Dollars" (with Snoop Dogg) and "After Party" (with Kurupt). 'Zapp VII: Roger & Friend's also includes posthumous performances by Roger himself on 'Red & Dollars' and the beautiful ballad 'Angel', which was pieced together from an early demo tape he made. "Roger's real instrument was guitar," explains Larry Troutman Jr.. "He loved jazz, he loved instrumental music, but he was also a great producer-arranger in the studio and he developed something that was going to catch the people. And so it's great that these West Coast legends like Snoop, DJ Battlecat and Kurupt pay homage to Roger's genius and creative abilities on this new record."