Del The Funky Homosapien
Photo by Fragility
“The heaviest time was when I was going with this chick when I was trying to record 11th Hour. Basically she was a hoe,” US hip hop artist DEL THE FUNKY HOMOSAPIEN informs BIANCA VALENTINO, “I had to deal with her sneaking out at night and not coming home til hella late, she’d blackout and punch me.”
For Oakland born emcee and producer the road to completing his first solo record in seven years 11th Hour a follow up to Both Sides of The Brain has been an interesting ride. “I’d have fights with her and throw her out then police would bring her back,” he continues, “The house got shot at by people looking for her. There was a new caper every week. The way I look at stuff now is a lot different. I’m a lot more about getting my work done. I lost a lot of years fucking with her. Now that I’m free I have to move away from her because she would never leave me alone. The police are after her, they were after me at first but then after coming to my house for four to five years they realised it wasn’t me. These are all the things I had to go through to get the album out.”
The cousin of rapper, actor and film director Ice Cube, Del first came into the spotlight in 1991 with smash single Mistadobalina taken from his acclaimed debut album, I Wish My Brother George Was Here – the title referencing one of Del’s musical heroes. “George Clinton is pretty much one of my biggest influences. The whole Parliament Funkadelic was a big influence, James Brown too. James Brown is the forefather of modern music everything can be traced back to him. It’s important to understand his whole musical theory… My whole basis is funk, all the stuff that was poppin’ in the ‘70s, early ‘80s that’s pretty much my frame work right there. Funk is what I relate to the most,” he says.
A key factor that helped shape latest album 11th Hour is Del’s committed study of music theory in recent years. “I feel good,” he tells of the fruits of his labour, “I feel way more comfortable about my future and what I can do. Before it was a cloud or fog, I’m going down the street trying to find my house and there’s this hella fog in the way. Now the fog has begun to lift and I can see a little bit clearer.”
In summary of the project Del tells, “For me 11th Hour was a successful endeavour. It had a lot more to do with me and what was going on in my life than trying to sell the album for money. It wasn’t about that, but that can be important. It was about getting this knowledge in my head to work out everything I need to. It came out dope. I think it came out good. When I’m listening to it I don’t feel like I wasn’t where I needed to be there. This album I was right there concentrated and focused. I didn’t want this album to be scattered, that took a lot of work. After years of not focusing and just doing it, I’m used to just doing it but after a while I figured that wasn’t enough. I felt like I had to put more effort into it. That was successful to me.”
