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HANCOCK, Herbie
way more Helter Skelter.

August 15, 1983 - 2023: 40 years of: Future Shock.

The chameleon strikes back.

Jazz pianist legend sets the pace for the developing hip 80s. Herbie Hancock makes a complete crossover from freestyle-jazz ...to cutting-edge high-stamina breakdance. Electronica hiphop in 1983 ? ...the future-funk is here !

The down-beat rocks hard on the 8min+ title-track "Future Shock". Supercharged reggae with slick vocal-lines, all wrapped in crisp top-production. More lethal poison is force-fed with an abundance of dance-floor pulses, as heavily provided on "TFS" and "Rough".

Breakdance lives, from the dusty-streets to the main-halls, the percussions and addictive beats corrupts every nerve. Let the "Earth Beat" controls you into the fast-lane with "Autodrive". Resistance is futile.

And now, the universal MTV-single classic for "Rockit", not only helped said channel to get a rating's boost, but also mainstreamed these new rhythms, deep into the subconscious of the current boy-band newwave psyche. Hitting extra-hard on the bass, along the epileptic tempo and hammering keyboards, made "Rockit" an instant danceable hit. Taking the DIY breakdance vibe into local-TVs, this track alone sat the groove for the upcoming hiphop mid 80s takeover. The accompanying video broke the modus-operandi of the then still in infancy video-making, into a full bloomed plethora of sights and never before seen stop-motion animation. Robots and dancing mannequins in 1983 ? ...the future is here !

A changing of the guards, as the LP features collaborating musicians ex-Miles Davis guitar-player Pete Cosey, drum-icon Sly Dunbar, creator / entrepreneur Bill Laswell, DJ Grand Mixer DXT and eventual mega-producer Michael Beinhorn.

Trendbending and synonymous with the times, Hancock's new synth fusion would breed again on 1984's Sound-System LP.

*
Rockit = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHhD4PD75zY
Autodrive = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8_7tKMDi8U
Future Shock = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qglh-WA-5hM&list=PLZljx9noqea7nu2NS1Plma1-Y0r8O6Bpl
Interview and sampling in 1983
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daLceM3qZmI
Live TV in 1984
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPTHjZ6JYIU