Funky Dee
Funky Dee | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Dean Smith |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | Deptford, London, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels |
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Dean Smith, better known by his stage names Funky Dee and Firmer Dee,[2] is a British multi-genre MC from Deptford, South East London.[3] Best known for his UK funky hit "Are You Gonna Bang Doe?",[3] he was also a member of P Money's first grime crew, Fatal Assassins,[1] and clashed Mischief Artist for Jammer's Lord of the Mics VIII DVD in March 2019.[3][4]
Career
Early 2000s: Firmer Dee moniker and grime roots with Fatal Assassins
First using the stage name Firmer Dee (alternatively Firmer or Firmer D),[5] Smith was an early member of Lewisham grime collective Fatal Assassins from around 2004 alongside P Money, Blacks, Little Dee and Mckenzie.[1] He appeared on several posse cuts released by the crew including the "8 Bar Riddim" and "We're Still Here".[1]
2009–2012: Name change, "Are You Gonna Bang Doe?" and diss tracks
In 2009, Smith adopted the stage name Funky Dee to indicate a musical shift toward the then-fledgling UK funky genre, and recorded a vocal version of Apple's instrumental "Chantes" entitled "Are You Gonna Bang Doe?". While the song was never independently released and therefore never eligible to chart, a promotional music video was released, and the song was circulated to radio, DJs, press and television networks by All Around the World Productions, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.[6] It first appeared on the label's August 2010 compilation Street Nation, which entered the UK Compilation Chart at number four[7] and remained in the top hundred best-selling compilations for thirteen weeks.[8] The track was eventually released on retailers nine years later, on 15 November 2018.[9] A YouTube upload of the song has accumulated over 1.6 million views.[10]
"Are You Gonna Bang Doe?" has been described by Tim Westwood as "the summer soundtrack" which "replaced [Boy Better Know's] "Too Many Man" in the clubs",[6] by TRENCH Magazine as an "Ayia Napa anthem",[4] and later by Dummy Mag as an "old favourite".[11] On the other hand, critics included Vice's Sam Diss, who considered it to be one of several tracks "that practically confirmed [UK funky] would soon become the novelty soundtrack to every bad freshers week in the country, eventually leading to its demise",[12] and former N.A.S.T.Y Crew DJ Marcus Nasty, who likened the song to "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and claimed it contributed to the genre becoming "kiddies' music".[13]
The track has spawned multiple parodies and has also been described as an Internet meme by Know Your Meme.[14] It was interpolated by Ed Sheeran in his viral 2010 freestyle alongside Example, the "Nando's Skank",[15] and was later interpolated by Sun Bingo in 2018 for their "Are You Gonna Bingo?" advertising campaign, described by marketing magazine The Drum as a "surreal musical skit".[16]
Smith continued to release a variety of music throughout 2010, including grime single "Mad Still" and two EPs entitled Crazy and Hyper, which featured a mixture of UK garage, British hip hop, house and pop rap.[17] In 2012, he exchanged diss tracks with Birmingham grime MC Sox and expressed an interest in clashing him for a Lord of the Mics or Who's Da Boss DVD.[18] While a full clash never took place, the pair are expected to rematch on Who's Da Boss.
2016–present: Best of Both Worlds and Lord of the Mics VIII
In 2016, Smith worked closely with Swindon MC Grim Sickers, collaborating on "Bread" and "Mad Ting" and assisting in the recording of Sickers' single "Kane". He appeared on the All Star Remix of the latter track in 2017 alongside P Money, Jaykae, Kurupt FM's MC Grindah and DJ Beats, and President T.[19] However, the two fell out after Sickers interpolated a lyric from the noughties Firmer D and Darq E Freaker collaboration "Mill", using it without permission on his 2017 collaboration with Mike Skinner and Ghetts, "Open the Till". This led Smith to release two diss tracks, "Swear" and "Gyal Clown", in December 2017[20] and February 2018[21] respectively. Both tracks appear on five-track EP Best of Both Worlds, released in February 2018.[22]
In 2019, Smith was invited to participate in Jammer and Ratty's Lord of the Mics VIII clash series. He clashed Hertfordshire MC Mischief Artist,[3] who had already directed four diss tracks at him prior to Lord of the Mics,[4] and also helped Jammer to decide on the lineup for the other clashes.[23] His collaboration with Jammer and Ten Dixon, "Kooong", also appeared on the Lord of the Mics VIII compilation album. The album entered the UK Compilations Chart at number 38.[24]
Discography
EPs
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Crazy |
|
| Hyper |
|
| Best of Both Worlds |
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Mad Still" | Non-album single |
| 2012 | "Big Move" (featuring Riskgo) | |
| 2016 | "Move with the Times" (featuring Wiley) |
Best of Both Worlds - EP |
| 2018 | "Spent" | Non-album single |
| "Are You Gonna Bang Doe?"[a] |
Promotional singles
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "Ain't Gonna"[b] | Non-album single |
Guest appearances
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "V.I.P Pass (Remix)" (Twissman featuring Black The Ripper, Casso Blax, Dot Rotten, Double S, Funky Dee, G FrSH, Stormin, and Tayong) |
Twisted Revolution |
| 2016 | "Bread" (Grim Sickers featuring Nasty Jack, Harry Shotta, Funky Dee, RD, Stormin, Flirta D, Hitman, Bomma B, Slickman Party and Hitman Tiga) |
Non-album single |
| 2017 | "Kane (All Star Remix)" (Grim Sickers featuring Kurupt FM, P Money, President T, Funky Dee and Jaykae) | |
| 2019 | "LOTM All Star Riddim" (LOTM All Stars featuring Jammer, Jafro, Funky Dee, Tommy B, Ten Dixon, Jay0117, Rawza, Tana, Yizzy, Logan, SBK, F.O.S, Dialect, Armz, Micofcourse, Reece West, T Roadz, Mischief Artist and Gen) |
Lord of the Mics VIII |
| "Kooong" (featuring Jammer and Ten Dixon) |
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "HERITAGE: Before They Were OGz, P Money, Little Dee And Blacks Were Making Bangers Like "We're Still Here" As Fatal Assasins". TRENCH Magazine. 2018-06-18.
- ↑ Walker, Joe (2017-06-06). "Watch Firmer D & friends (including Dot Rotten) shell on Rinse FM Grime Show". RWD Magazine.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Lord Of The Mics 2019 Line Up: Official LOTM8 Clashes Revealed". Capital XTRA. 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "EXCLUSIVE: Funky Dee And Mischief Square Off For A Heated Round Of 'Lord Of The Mics 8'". TRENCH Magazine. 2019-06-09.
- ↑ Patterson, Joseph (2016-03-07). "New Gen, New Powers: AJ Tracey's Birthday Set Was A Shelly Situation". Complex UK.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Funky Dee Are You Gonna Bang Doe - Westwood". YouTube. 2010-12-17.
- ↑ "Official Compilations Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 2010-09-05. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
- ↑ "Official Compilations Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
- ↑ "Are You Gonna Bang Doe - Single by Funky Dee on Apple Music". Apple Music. 2018-11-15.
- ↑ "Funky Dee Are You Gonna Bang Doe". YouTube. 2010-03-28.
- ↑ "Review: Lovebox, 14/7/17, London". Dummy Mag. 2017-07-19.
- ↑ Diss, Sam (2016-04-19). "Blackberry Messenger, Sticky Nightclubs, and Gucci Loafers: Remembering Funky House". Vice.
- ↑ "Marcus Nasty talks music beef, rumours and the original Chicken Connoisseur". YouTube. 2019-06-20.
- ↑ "Are you gonna bang doe?". Know Your Meme. 2012-03-03.
- ↑ "Example Tour Vid 8: "Example & Ed Sheeran perform the Nando's Skank"". YouTube. 2010-05-10.
- ↑ Deighton, Katie (2018-02-23). "Ad of the Day: Sun Bingo takes on 'Are You Gonna Bang Doe' in surreal musical skit". The Drum.
- ↑ "Spotify - Funky Dee". Spotify. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
- ↑ "Funky dee - Send For Sox". YouTube. 2012-12-30.
- ↑ Williams, Phillip (2017-05-09). "Kurupt FM join Grim Sickers for Kane remix - *video*". Red Bull.
- ↑ "Funky Dee - Swear (Grim Sickers Diss) Prod. by Zeph Ellis - Music Video - GRM Daily - YouTube". YouTube. 2017-12-02.
- ↑ "Funky Dee - Gyal Clown (Grim Sickers Diss) Prod. by Zeph Ellis - Music Video - GRM Daily - YouTube". YouTube. 2018-02-07.
- ↑ "Best of Both Worlds- EP by Funky Dee on Apple Music". Apple Music. 2018-02-05.
- ↑ "LORD OF THE MICS 8 on Twitter: "Picking clashing for LOTM it's about to heat up with the god @DDoubleE7 & the young G's @shizzmcnaughty @blakieblakes & FUNKYDEE1 filling man in with who has on going drama on radio #THEReturnOfLOTM". Jammer on Twitter. 2019-01-06.
- ↑ "Official Compilations Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
- ↑ Bishop, Aaron (2018-10-08). "Funky Dee Leaves It All On The Track With "Ain't Gonna" - TRENCH". TRENCH Magazine.
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