(January 21, 2020) There are millions of fans who identify as funk music lovers, and if you ask them about the greatest funk bands of the past half century, and it won’t be very long before the name Cameo comes up. With decades of funky greatness and hits like “Word Up,” “She’s Strange,” “Sparkle” and many, many more, Cameo has a permanent place in the pantheon of funk greatness. And there from the beginning was singer and songwriter Tomi Jenkins, who, in addition to his years as part of the core of Cameo has also established a solo singing career.
We’ve been following Tomi’s solo work for a few years now, and his music has been consistently as engaging as his work with Cameo. And that’s the case with his new dance jam, “To The Floor.”
(January 21, 2020) There are millions of fans who identify as funk music lovers, and if you ask them about the greatest funk bands of the past half century, and it won’t be very long before the name Cameo comes up. With decades of funky greatness and hits like “Word Up,” “She’s Strange,” “Sparkle” and many, many more, Cameo has a permanent place in the pantheon of funk greatness. And there from the beginning was singer and songwriter Tomi Jenkins, who, in addition to his years as part of the core of Cameo has also established a solo singing career.
We’ve been following Tomi’s solo work for a few years now, and his music has been consistently as engaging as his work with Cameo. And that’s the case with his new dance jam, “To The Floor.”
Tomi tells us about the single and the coming album, The Game Plan, “I’m channeling my dance/funk roots on that one. The lyrics generally say you don’t have to be in a club or need a lot of space to feed your soul and free your mind, just get on a floor and turn the music up! You know, it’s interesting, and I didn’t plan it this way, but most of the songs on the album, no matter if it’s an R&B track, a ballad, the rock joint I have on there or the funky ones, there’s some introspective or thoughtful nugget to be heard. I guess that’s why I named the album The Game Plan, which is one of funk songs that says, in part, ‘Time will dance away, so what I’m saying ain’t no time to play, don’t waste a day, and you better love all that you can, making a difference here that’s the game plan, be your best man.’”
There’s some wisdom there, and it makes you shake, too. Check out “To The Floor” below, and welcome Tomi Jenkins back to SoulTracks!
Tomi Jenkins – “To The Floor”