RARE ESSENCE NAMED BEST IN DC 2021 "BEST GO-GO BAND"

Watch Snoop Dogg and Legendary Go-Go Band Rare Essence "Hit The Floor"

September 24, 2020 - 11:41 am by Rob Kenner

Dubbed "The Wickedest Band Alive" by Doug E. Fresh, Chocolate City Go-Go legends Rare Essence have been doing their thing for 45 years and counting. Like the late Chuck Brown, Black Heat, the Young Senators, and other stalwarts of Go-Go, the musical subgenre that was officially designated Washington D.C.'s "sound of the city" earlier this year, Rare Essence made their name with marathon live shows featuring funky percussion, hella cowbell, and lots of call-and-response vamping to keeps the dance floor percolating till the break of dawn. Along the way, Rare Essence appeared as Aretha Franklin's backing band in her "Jimmy Lee" music video and hit the charts with their 1992 single "Work the Walls." They've also collaborated with a host of hip-hop superheroes including Public Enemy, LL Cool J, and Biz Markie, not to mention D.C. native Wale.

Read More https://www.vibe.com/2020/09/snoop-dogg-rare-essence-hit-the-floor-music-video

How a Big Collaboration Between Rare Essence and Snoop Dogg Came Together

New single "Hit the Floor" premieres this Saturday.

by ALONA WARTOFSKYSEPTEMBER 15TH, 2020

Snoop Dogg with the band Credit: Brian Liu @toolboxdc

It all started with an Instagram post. Back in the summer of 2018, Snoop Dogg shared a brief video of himself seated in a car, blunt blazing as he cranks to Rare Essence’s go-go classic, “Hey Buddy Buddy.”

Bicoastal discussions ensued, and months later, when Snoop brought his stage play, Redemption of a Dogg, to D.C. for a weekend of performances, he spent time in the studio with two of D.C.’s top go-go bands, Backyard Band and Rare Essence. Nearly two years later, the first of those recordings will be released this weekend as Rare Essence premieres its new single, “Hit the Floor,” Saturday at 10 p.m. as part of the band’s first livestream performance since March. After that, the single, released on the band’s own Rare One label, will be available on all music streaming platforms.

Read More https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/322425/how-a-big-collaboration-between-rare-essence-and-snoop-dogg-came-together/