I Am What I am

A 2 track funk single (10m 4s) — released May 14th 2007 on Freestyle Records

As the labels celebrates it's 50th 12" release (in just under 4 years!), who better to help them celebrate than ‘Marvellous Marva’, ‘Miss Excitement’…and James Brown's (RIP) "Soul Sister Number One" - Marva Whitney?? Widely regarded as the funkiest of all James Brown’s singers, Marva has been singing since childhood and first made her mark as part of the James Brown Revue in the late-1960’s. It wasn’t long before the Kansas born soulstress was cutting records of her own, many of which have since become rare-groove collectors items. Marva’s aim to make “real soul music, that touches you and makes you dance†has seen a string of releases over the years, which have provided some of the hardest working samples in hip hop. The 45 King’s classic ‘The 900 Number’ features the looped sax intro from Marva’s ‘Unwind Yourself’, along with many a ghetto-fabulous career credited to her version of “It’s My Thingâ€. Here we find 2 modern classics, fit to fend off any pretenders to Marva's throne. "I Am What I Am" heralds the first lady's return, with her sounding in fine fettle over a tight JB style groove, supplied courtesy of Japan's Osaka Monaurail. Previously released on 7", this is the first time this track has been available in it's full unedited form. Over on the flip we find the James Brown staple "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose" given a modern update, again available for the first time in it's full glory.
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