Not my upload but I had uploaded it like about two years ago but I had comments of one of the pictures not being the singer Tonni Smith. Plus I think it got that stupid "blocked in some countries" bullshit. I might re-uploaded it one of these days, might be a few minutes. But just with the image of Tom Browne (the real one).

Classic Jam! When I was younger, I could've swore that was Chaka Khan singing lead.

Oh yeah, I used to love all that Jive talkin in the background.

[Edited 5/26/11 11:27am]

Musicslave said:

Classic Jam! When I was younger, I could've swore that was Chaka Khan singing lead.

Oh yeah, I used to love all that Jive talkin in the background.

[Edited 5/26/11 11:27am]

Chaka WAS going to be on it I heard but for some reason (probably schedule conflicts) she couldn't do it so they found someone who sounded like her.

Timmy84 said:

Musicslave said:

Classic Jam! When I was younger, I could've swore that was Chaka Khan singing lead.

Oh yeah, I used to love all that Jive talkin in the background.

[Edited 5/26/11 11:27am]

Chaka WAS going to be on it I heard but for some reason (probably schedule conflicts) she couldn't do it so they found someone who sounded like her.

Hell yeah they did. Never knew that. Cool. However, nobody can wail quite like Chaka.

Musicslave said:

Timmy84 said:

Chaka WAS going to be on it I heard but for some reason (probably schedule conflicts) she couldn't do it so they found someone who sounded like her.

Hell yeah they did. Never knew that. Cool. However, nobody can wail quite like Chaka.

Right.

Musicslave said:

Classic Jam! When I was younger, I could've swore that was Chaka Khan singing lead.

Oh yeah, I used to love all that Jive talkin in the background.

[Edited 5/26/11 11:27am]

Oh my god, I felt the same exact way! I used to think Chaka was singing lead on this classic track as well because the lady who sings it sounds almost like her. It's scary as hell. Anyway, this is the FUNK jam that I always go back to when I gotta get a groove bumpin'! Killer.

Never get tired of this jam. Classic.

Liked this cover from '07 too

I saw Tom Browne in concert when this song was released, he was one of the opening acts for CAMEO. His performance was God-awful, and his band got boo'd by many in the crowd. "Funkin' for Jamaica" didn't do much to bring the audience back around.

I learned years later (...actually, just several months ago), that CAMEO had a notorious reputation for sabotaging the sound equipment of their opening acts, lol. Grandmaster Flash was another of the opening acts, and they suffered the same fate as Tom Browne.

Great song, nevertheless.

PDogz said:

I saw Tom Browne in concert when this song was released, he was one of the opening acts for CAMEO. His performance was God-awful, and his band got boo'd by many in the crowd. "Funkin' for Jamaica" didn't do much to bring the audience back around.

I learned years later (...actually, just several months ago), that CAMEO had a notorious reputation for sabotaging the sound equipment of their opening acts, lol. Grandmaster Flash was another of the opening acts, and they suffered the same fate as Tom Browne.

Great song, nevertheless.

Not surprised.

A hot one.

yanowha said:

yanowha said:

I feel like I've just died and gone to heaven! Chaka is a such a queen.

Musicslave said:

When I was younger, I could've swore that was Chaka Khan singing lead.

Me too! In fact,it wasn't until the 90s that I found out that it wasn't Chaka singing on this song.

^ But it shows you Chaka left her imprint in music with her own sound. Erykah Badu keeps singing like Chaka in some type of way.

Owwww!!! This was my jam back in the day!! I used to love that this song was a tribute to Jamaica, Queens, NY.

[Edited 5/26/11 20:17pm]

One of those songs that's always on time.

Musicslave said:

Classic Jam! When I was younger, I could've swore that was Chaka Khan singing lead.

Oh yeah, I used to love all that Jive talkin in the background.

[Edited 5/26/11 11:27am]

I used to think it was Chaka too. Very similar voice.

So many funk classics......it should have a forum all of it's own

Timmy84 said:

^ But it shows you Chaka left her imprint in music with her own sound. Erykah Badu keeps singing like Chaka in some type of way.

I never thought it was Chaka. My ears might need adjusting. Wait..huh?

Adisa said:

I never thought it was Chaka. My ears might need adjusting. Wait..huh?

Im with you. Love the song, never heard Chaka in it.

Whatever happened to Toni Smith? With the success of "Funkin' For Jamaica" and "Thighs High", one would think those would be the perfect vehicles to launch a solo career. I can't recall if she ever did try her hand at one or if she did but just didn't pan out for her.

UnderMySun said:

Whatever happened to Toni Smith? With the success of "Funkin' For Jamaica" and "Thighs High", one would think those would be the perfect vehicles to launch a solo career. I can't recall if she ever did try her hand at one or if she did but just didn't pan out for her.

Her heart was probably not in it.