Cameo

• Genre: Funk
• Hometown: New York

About

The tale of "Word up!" begins with Cameo, a funk group that, in the mid-'70s, had an obsession with all things George Clinton. Their early records had the requisite sweat-soaked, bare-skinned record covers, while the inner sleeves showed a band with as many members as a small city and with more horns than a gridlocked Manhattan boulevard. As the '80s appeared, the Cameo sound grew to become more streamlined, focusing on slow jams and electro-based Funk. Finally, 1985 saw the release of the definitive Cameo track. An exercise in urban studio magic, "Word Up" became a massive hit and introduced a phrase into our vernacular that is still in use today...although its true meaning has never been fully explained. Word to your mother, indeed.

- Jon Pruett