Funk This was more cohesive an album and no real bad tracks. I remember when it first came out thinking that Jam & Lewis outdid Prince's effort. Come 2 My House though has something about it though, a quirkiness and uniqueness that for some reason, as the years have passed have made me like his album more than Funk This.

Definately "Come 2 My House" for me. That was the last time on record she sounded clear and strong. Excellent vocal performance. Vibe magazine dubbed the album a masterpiece! On "Funk This", her voice was very gravely, she was growling alot and just really struggling to hit the notes she used to hit so effortlessly. Although the album had it's moments ("Angel", "Do You Love Me", "Hail To the Wrong", "Superlife") I didn't care for a lot of the song selections. Other than "You Belong to Me", I didn't enjoy any of the covers. And the Mary J. duet sounded like something of an outtake from a Beyonce album. "Funk This" is my 2nd LEAST favorite album from Chaka (right behind "Classikhan").

[Edited 3/10/14 16:24pm]

My vote goes to Come 2 My House.

Both albums are great,but I would give the edge to Come 2 My House.

I haven't heard Funk This, but have to comment that at the time I thought Come 2 My House was a better PRINCE ALBUM than Newpower Soul. It helped me restore my faith in him as a producer and a songwriter after what I felt was the most disappointing record of his career. Come 2 My House had a far more fluent quality to its music and it wasn't distasteful in the same way as NPS was.

novabrkr said:

I haven't heard Funk This, but have to comment that at the time I thought Come 2 My House was a better PRINCE ALBUM than Newpower Soul. It helped me restore my faith in him as a producer and a songwriter after what I felt was the most disappointing record of his career. Come 2 My House had a far more fluent quality to its music and it wasn't distasteful in the same way as NPS was.

THIS!^

speaking of Chaka....what the heck happened to her new album?? I was eagerly waiting for it.Guess she's having a hard time getting the right type of distribution deal.

novabrkr said:

I haven't heard Funk This, but have to comment that at the time I thought Come 2 My House was a better PRINCE ALBUM than Newpower Soul. It helped me restore my faith in him as a producer and a songwriter after what I felt was the most disappointing record of his career. Come 2 My House had a far more fluent quality to its music and it wasn't distasteful in the same way as NPS was.

I agree.Come 2 My House is a strong,inspired album with superb production and great lyrics throughout.New Power Soul was mostly just an album of throwaway jams.

SoulAlive said:

speaking of Chaka....what the heck happened to her new album?? I was eagerly waiting for it.Guess she's having a hard time getting the right type of distribution deal.

Last interview I read, which was earlier this year, she's saying due to the lack of interest in "Funk This", she probably won't release a full length album and will probably opt for singles instead. She has scheduled another live chat for next week (hope this one doesn't end up being cancelled like the last one) so hopefully, I will be able to find out more info then.

SoulAlive said:

speaking of Chaka....what the heck happened to her new album?? I was eagerly waiting for it.Guess she's having a hard time getting the right type of distribution deal.

On her website she says " I'm trying to figure out in what way I want to release it".. so she may be having the same issues Prince is. I dunno what label she's on these days..

"In February 2008, "Funk This" has sold 160,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk_This

That's not so bad. After reading that comment about her sales I thought it would be more like 1,600.

kitbradley said:

SoulAlive said:

speaking of Chaka....what the heck happened to her new album?? I was eagerly waiting for it.Guess she's having a hard time getting the right type of distribution deal.

Last interview I read, which was earlier this year, she's saying due to the lack of interest in "Funk This", she probably won't release a full length album and will probably opt for singles instead. She has scheduled another live chat for next week (hope this one doesn't end up being cancelled like the last one) so hopefully, I will be able to find out more info then.

that's disappointing to hear.I wish there was a label that was devoted to Old School artists where they could release new albums without any pressure to sell alot of copies.Releasing music strictly to their diehard fans.That's what I assumed Burgundy Records (the small label that released Funk This) was gonna be.

novabrkr said:

"In February 2008, "Funk This" has sold 160,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk_This

That's not so bad. After reading that comment about her sales I thought it would be more like 1,600.

For a veteran R&B singer, I didn't think the number was bad either. But, I guess I can see where she is coming from. When you are with a label you don't own, 160,000 copies doesn't translate into a lot of bread. And real musicians and instruments were used on the album, which cost even more money. When artists spend that kind of dough making an album and the sales aren't enough to recoup, the artist many times end up owing the label money. Chaka has been touring EXTENSIVELY, almost non-stop with a real band for many decades. She doesn't use pre-recorded music. Which equals more money being spent.

[Edited 3/12/14 10:29am]

SoulAlive said:

kitbradley said:

Last interview I read, which was earlier this year, she's saying due to the lack of interest in "Funk This", she probably won't release a full length album and will probably opt for singles instead. She has scheduled another live chat for next week (hope this one doesn't end up being cancelled like the last one) so hopefully, I will be able to find out more info then.

that's disappointing to hear.I wish there was a label that was devoted to Old School artists where they could release new albums without any pressure to sell alot of copies.Releasing music strictly to their diehard fans.That's what I assumed Burgundy Records (the small label that released Funk This) was gonna be.

The Shanachie label specializes in old school artists releasing new music. Many have done one-off CDs with the label (Vesta, Deniece Williams, Chante Moore, Melba Moore, Miki Howard - just to name a few). I'm willing to bet Chaka talked to the label but the money wasn't right. And the label really doesn't put much $$$ behind promo. Maysa Leak has been with them for several years, though. They must be treating her really well.

kitbradley said:

Definately "Come 2 My House" for me. That was the last time on record she sounded clear and strong. Excellent vocal performance. Vibe magazine dubbed the album a masterpiece! On "Funk This", her voice was very gravely, she was growling alot and just really struggling to hit the notes she used to hit so effortlessly. Although the album had it's moments ("Angel", "Do You Love Me", "Hail To the Wrong", "Superlife") I didn't care for a lot of the song selections. Other than "You Belong to Me", I didn't enjoy any of the covers. And the Mary J. duet sounded like something of an outtake from a Beyonce album. "Funk This" is my 2nd LEAST favorite album from Chaka (right behind "Classikhan").

[Edited 3/10/14 16:24pm]

I'm right there WITH u, Kit. With a title like "Funk This!," that's what I expected: Funk, but what it delivers, on the other hand, is anything BUT Funk. "Disrespectful," as much as I loved it when it first dropped, sounds more like a hot mess screamfest today than it did in 2008. It was the Amerie/Rich Harrison sound that was instantly alluring, but today, meh. It's just oKAY.

Funk This is a good album,but I don't like the fact that it has so many cover songs on it.The original songs are excellent (especially "Angel"),I don't think that any of the remakes were necessary.

Kind of surprised at the balance of replies, tbh. I always thought of C2MH as one more Prince side project from a time where he was a bit lost musically (and inclined to turn the reverb up to 11), but still one with a few nice moments on it. Funk This was a much better album overall, though, to my ears. A bit 'safe', perhaps, but sounded more convincing as a Chaka Khan album - and pretty solid as a veteran artist's take on a contemporary sound.