Photo Courtesy of Mandrill

There have been a bunch of notable Funk and Soul musicians passing as of late. First Marva Whitney, then Fontella Bass, and now we’re sad to report the passing of “Sweet” Lou Wilson from the band Mandrill. One of the founding Wilson brothers, Wilson played trumpet in this influential Latin, Funk, Rock, R & B band out of Bed-Stuy Brooklyn via Panama that has been a staple on the scene since the early 1970’s. If you’re looking for the definition of World music, Mandrill is it. With an astounding four decades in music, Mandrill blended many genres that crossed over to different audiences. Spreading a positive message through their music, along with their applauded records, they also contributed music to the classic film The Warriors. Later on they were discovered by Hip Hop producers, who sampled their percussion heavy tracks. Their most well known sample is from the Jungle Brothers “Straight Out the Jungle”, which used “Mango Meat” quite nice, and their hit “Fence Walk” has been chopped up a few times as well. Mandrill was sampled by bands like EPMD, Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, Eric B. and Rakim, Kanye West, Nas, UMC’s, Ice Cube, De La Soul, Beck and more. Their original music, vision, and reworked tracks stay behind. Condolences to the Wilson family. Mandrill’s music lives on.

Mandrill – Mango Meat

Mandrill – Fence Walk

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