A Tribute To Dyke, Family & Trouble Funk!
Listen To Full Shows On The Trouble Funk JukeBox Dating Back To 1979!
https://oldschoolgogo.com/index.php/music/playlist/26/trouble-funk/
Watch Dyke Perfor... View MoreA Tribute To Dyke, Family & Trouble Funk!
Listen To Full Shows On The Trouble Funk JukeBox Dating Back To 1979!
https://oldschoolgogo.com/index.php/music/playlist/26/trouble-funk/
Watch Dyke Performing "Hey Fellas" w/Trouble Funk On TV! - http://www.oldschoolgogo.com/videos/TF_Hey_Fellas/index.htm
For more Trouble Funk videos w/Dyke, click the following link! - https://oldschoolgogo.com/index.php/video/
You can read Condolences & Comments at bottom of page!
Robert Reed (Dyke), who played keyboards for Trouble Funk, died on Sunday April 13, 2008 at 10:42 pm in Arlington, VA. He was 50 and lived in Greenbelt, Md. The cause of his death was pancreatic cancer, said his brother Taylor, who played trumpet in the band.
This is a heavy blow to those of us who knew, loved and frequented Trouble Funk shows back in the day! Influenced by Sly Stone, the Ohio Players and other leading funk bands of the era, Trouble Funk had a playful, futuristic style that brought go-go closer to the rap sound that was then emerging in New York. Famous as a tight live band, it played shows that routinely lasted for hours.
Mr. Reed, whose stage name was Syke Dyke, toyed with his keyboards to create flashy electronic noises that could resemble science-fiction sound effects. Tony Fisher, Mr. Reed’s childhood friend who was called Big Tony, played bass and acted as the “talker,†sing-speaking repetitive, call-and-response phrases to whip up both band (“Hey, fellas, do you want to take time out to get close to the ladies?â€) and crowd (“Get on up!â€).
Early on Trouble Funk was adopted by tastemaking D.J.’s like Afrika Bambaataa, who played its records alongside rap and electronic tracks. The group worked with ’80s rap stars like Kurtis Blow, and certain Trouble Funk songs have become among the most sampled sounds in hip-hop history, used by LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, Boogie Down Productions and Will Smith, among many others.
Trouble Funk’s first album, “Drop the Bomb,†was issued in 1982 on Sugar Hill Records, the New York label that dominated early hip-hop. Along with other groups like E.U. and Rare Essence, Trouble Funk outlasted disco, and for a time in the ’80s, go-go was poised to become a mainstream hit. The group toured the globe and was signed to Island Records, home of Bob Marley and U2.
But as with many go-go groups, its kinetic energy as a live act did not translate into hit singles. After two albums on Island that received lukewarm responses, “Saturday Night. Live! From Washington DC†(1985) and “Trouble Over Here Trouble Over There†(1987), the band ceased recording, though it continued to perform, particularly in Washington.
Mr. Reed was born in Newport News, VA., and later moved with his five siblings to Washington, where his mother worked as a nurse. He graduated from Howard University with a degree in music and had recently worked at Bowie State University in Bowie, Md., instructing students in recording technology.
In addition to his brother Taylor, his survivors include two other brothers, Ernest and Melvin; two sisters, Sheila and Toni; his wife, Sheila; a son, Robert Jr.; and a daughter, Angela.
