It’s been eight years since Mexican regional music lost their great lady, their "Gran Señora."

But Jenni Rivera’s one of a kind voice and rebellious, trailblazing spirt lives on in her latest never-before released track "Quisieran Tener Mi Lugar."

The unforgettable Mexican-American singer, who died in a tragic plane crash in 2012, paved the way for women in Mexican regional music with her command over several genre styles (banda, corrido and mariachi, to name a few) and a powerful, soulful voice that belted out lyrics about heartbreak, love, sex and mafia life. A female artist in a male-dominated genre, Jenni Rivera made room for herself and claimed her throne as banda’s diva, as she was lovingly known, with a spirit that was not afraid to break gender norms.

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"Quisieran Tener Mi Lugar" exudes the confidence, determination, drive and outspokenness the world loved about her.

"They keep going with the same old story/ They judge and criticize my life/ I’m the diva and it hurts them/ I say what I want, I don’t care," she sings in Spanish over the brass heavy style of banda music. "They just want to talk to talk/ Because they don’t have any shame/Maybe they want to have my place and live the good life."

GRAMMY.com has an exclusive preview of the song, which will be fully released on what would be Rivera’s 51st birthday, July 2.

The unreleased song was discovered by Rivera’s brother Juan, who was unsure if the songs he had come across were new when he found them, after her death.

"When I found out they were unreleased records I wasn’t sure if it was sheer happiness or sadness," he told GRAMMY.com via email. "Happiness because it was something FRESH, TOTALLY NEW and UNHEARD for her fans. Sad because I’m afraid to find them all and reach that potential end."

"Quisieran Tener Mi Lugar" is the third single off a posthumous forthcoming album called Hablando Claro. No release date has been set. Juan and Rivera’s youngest son, Johnny, are aomg some that have worked on the album which will feature previously released singles "Aparentemente Bien," co-written by Erika Ender and Alejandro Lerner and "Enganemoslo" with Mariachi Los Reyes and written by Espinoza Paz.

Juan says working on the album has brought a new way for him to contribute to his sister’s legacy.

RELATED: The Spirit Of Jenni Rivera Is Forever Unbreakable

"It’s been the greatest honor and BLESSING. At times, difficult because as a brother i would have never imagined that I would have to work on her music in this manner," he said. "I had the honor of working with her on live performances and to see that PURE LOVE for her from her fans. Now, I can say I’m a part of her musical history via these new songs."

The family has been holding news of the album since 2017, waiting for the right moment to release it.

Rivera’s son, Johnny, has been looking forward to the album since then. For him, it’s been an honor to work on his mother’s music. He thoughtfully came up with the album’s title so that it could align with other albums in her catalog.

"I wanted to make sure it’d fit with the rest of my mom’s studio albums and so I chose Hablando Claro because she recorded that song on the album for my grandmother. She has the theme across many of her albums of honoring my grandmother with tracks like 'La Gran Señora,' 'Resulta,' 'Homenaje A Mi Madre' and 'Déjame Vivir.'" He said. "I feel this is her speaking her truth through her music."

Johnny reveals fans can expect his mother’s "most bold, broken-down and personal tracks" on the new album.

"She left behind some great music and I think she always had the thought in her that she wanted to leave music behind for when she was no longer here physically," he shares. She was always thinking about the future."

He adds that he hopes her fans, new and old, become touched by her emotion and resonate with every single one she leaves on the album—whether they laugh, cry, or celebrate with her.

"She knew her purpose in life was to help others through her music.,” he said. “That intention is still the main goal even almost eight years after she’s been physically gone."

The album’s release will be a bittersweet feeling for Johnny too.

"It makes it more real that she’s no longer physically here. This is her final album of original Spanish material," he said. "In a lot of ways you wanna hold onto it forever but I know this is going to hold such an important place in her legacy."

Hear a snippet of the song above.

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As its title suggests, the final album from iconic Mexican rock band Caifanes heralded an explosive new evolution in hybrid rock. El Nervio Del Volcán ("nerve of the volcano" in English), was the culmination of a years-long quest by the band to alchemize modern rock and Latin American music. 

Released June 29, 1994, El Nervio Del Volcán represents a high point of Mexico’s rock en español explosion. The 11-track album — the band's fourth release — saw Califanes continuing to explore the sounds of Mexico and Latin America, while broadening their sonic palette with jazz and country. 

Since their formation in 1987, Caifanes had been working to refine a sound that was both commercially successful, highly original, and beloved by critics and fans alike. For their efforts, El Nervio became the second Spanish-language rock album to chart on the Billboard Latin 50. Rolling Stone, which rarely gave Spanish-language music column inches, gave the album a glowing review. Caifanes became the first Mexican band to play on MTV’s "Unplugged" in October 1994. The next year, they opened for the Rolling Stones in Mexico City. 

While Caifanes might have been the leading band of Mexico’s rock en español movement, they were part of a cohort that included bands like Café Tacuba, Maldita Vecindad, and Fobia — which were experimenting with new fusions of traditional Latin American and rock sounds. Caifanes was at the vanguard of the Mexico City-centric movement, and El Nervio showcased the band's skill in developing "strong hits, and experimental things, which I think kind of worked," music journalist Ed Morales tells GRAMMY.com. 

In an interview, Mexican rock historian Federico Rubli calls the record  "a very important album, that maybe in its time wasn’t sufficiently appreciated. Even today, 30 years later, it’s difficult to recognize how great a work it was." If the crossover success weren't appreciation enough, El Nervio is notable for the way in which it set a high standard in songwriting and production for other bands that followed. 

Caifanes was daring beyond their sonic experimentation. Like most Mexican rock bands at the time, their music was prohibited from being played on the radio and they  risked arrest for performing. By the time of their first concert at the legendary Rockotitlan festival in Mexico City in 1987, though, there was no stopping what would soon become a new rock movement. The following year, they broke through the government’s music blockade when their first single, "Mátenme Porque Me Muero" ("Kill me because I am dying"), hit the airwaves. 

The follow-up single, "La Negra Tomasa," a post-punk inflected cumbia rocker that became a smash hit across the country, selling a record 500,000 copies. Their self-titled debut album was released shortly thereafter, with the band members looking like extras from a movie about goth subculture on the cover. Their third album, 1992’s El Silencio, found the band more musically confident than ever before. Producer Adrian Below — the former guitarist and frontman of King Crimson who had also played with David Bowie and Talking Heads — helped the band expand their musical palette with "cotton-candy high notes, rumbling ocean rhythms with upsurges that bellows like sea elephants," music critic Chuck Eddy wrote. 

Everything changed for the rock en español movement in 1993, when the pop-rock outfit Maná, which played a syrupy mix of tropical-influenced music, sold a million copies of its second album, ¿Dónde Jugarán Los Niños? Record labels were suddenly pursuing the next hit-making Latin band and BMG, which had signed most of the major rock en español bands, considered Caifanes its star rockers. 

The band had fractured as they prepared to go back to the studio, with original bassist Sabo Romo and keyboardist Diego Herrera leaving the group. With the increased backing by their label, the trio of lead singer/songwriter and guitarist Saúl Hernández, Argentine-born guitarist Alejandro Marcovich, and drummer Alfonso André traveled to Burbank, California, to record El Nervio Del Volcán GRAMMY-winning producer Greg Ladanyi (known for his work with Toto, Fleetwood Mac, and The Church) was brought into the O’Henry Sound Studios, along with a few special guests. Famed trumpeter Jerry Hey (known for his work on Michael Jackson’s "Thriller") and Graham Nash both appear on El Nervio. 

The songs that Hernández largely wrote and that the other band members would coalesce around were heavily influenced by Mexican folkloric sounds, though Marcovich in particular introduced a variety of Latin American sounds with his guitar. Throughout El Nervio, Caifanes flows effortlessly between genres:  a bit of rustic son huasteco ("La llorona"), jolts of metal ("El Animal"), and Caribbean rhythms  ("Aviéntame").

Rubli tells GRAMMY.com that the album was notably different from the band’s previous releases, largely due to Marcovich being given leeway with the guitar arrangements. "El Nervio Del Volcán is a much more rounded album, more integrated, with a sequence in each song that is, you might say, more logical," he says in Spanish. "And a lot of that is due to the liberty that Alejandro had to arrange them as he wanted."

Soul-stirring anthem "Afuera" was an unusual choice for a lead single — it features an instrumental guitar interlude that lasts for more than a minute —  but proved brilliant. Even Markovich, the guitarist who wrote the interlude, was dubious about its commercial potential. 

"I never could have imagined it would be a single," he said in 2022 on the podcast "Cuéntame Un Disco." "I even told the record company that they might want to do a more radio friendly version without it, but they left it and it worked." 

Today the song is popular among musicians on YouTube precisely because of its interlude. 

Second single "Aqui No Es Asi" was also a hit. Marcovich, again on the podcast, said he was writing melodies on the guitar when he found an unusual rhythm "between Caribbean and Andean." "It was a strange mix," he said. 

Hernández has been called the "poet laureate of Mexican rock," and has often weaved social themes and indigenous mysticism into the lyrics of his songs. In the propulsive "Aqui no es asi," Hernandez obliquely refers to two different places — one materialistic and out of touch with spirituality, and the other a land "where blood is sacrificed for love." The song has been interpreted as a criticism of Eurocentric values that have marginalized more indigenous ones. 

The album slows down considerably with the acoustic, melancholic hymn "Ayer me dijo un ave." Now one of the band’s signature songs, the song is about strength in the face of adversity. Its lyrics are heavy with surrealistic imagery: "Yesterday a bird told me while flying where there is no heat," Hernández sings. "That the long-suffering are not resurrected in dreams." 

Many of the other songs have become classics in Mexico and among Spanish-speakers in the U.S. Highlights include the full-throttle tropical-tinged "Aviéntame"; "Pero Nunca Me Caí," which features Nash on harmonica; and "Quisiera Ser Alcohol," a jazz-influenced lament with trumpet from Hey and a sumptuous fretless bass from guest Stuart Hamm.

Rafael Catana, an influential folk-rock musician in Mexico City who has hosted a music show on government-funded radio since 1997, says Caifanes' last album "arrived at a crucial moment in Mexican history" when the country was undergoing a massive social and economic transformation. Both sonically and in its production, El Nervio reflected the conflict between Mexico's interest in transnational capitalism and its underclass.  

In the early 1990s, elites had opened the country to a flood of foreign corporate investment with the North American Free Trade Agreement. On Jan. 1, 1994, an armed indigenous uprising against those policies by the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional challenged the government unlike any other group had attempted in decades. (Security forces had warned against political dissidence when they massacred student protesters in Mexico City in 1968 and launched a dirty war to round up "subversives" and marginalize the counterculture, including rock bands).

While El Nervio doesn’t explicitly mention any of these historical points, it is clearly a product of the era, filled with evocations of Indigenous musical traditions despite being produced by a major corporate label. During the tour in support of the album, the band made it clear that they were on the side of Mexico’s most oppressed class, with footage of Indigenous villages and archeological sites shown during their concerts. Hernández would sometimes call on audiences to support Mexico’s native people. 

Backstage, the relationship between Marcovich and Hernández became impossible and contributed to the breakup of the band. The rupture between them would become a subject of headlines in the media. Though the exact details of their conflict remain vague, the band played their final show on Aug. 18, 1995, in San Luis Potosí. A legal dispute over the name Caifanes endured for years. 

By the time Caifanes broke up, rock en español was entering a new phase led by the indie-folkloric experimentation of Café Tacuba. Other musical trends also started emerging: the rap-rock of Molotov, the electro of Plastilina Mosh, the commercial explosion of Juanes' tropical pop, the Caribbean alternative rock of Aterciopelados.  

In the interim, Hernandez formed a new band with André. Their Jaguares channeled a more aggressive sound, and their 2008 album 45, took home a golden gramophone for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album at the 2009 GRAMMYs. In 2011, the original members of Caifanes reunited to play Coachella.

But the truce between Hernández and Marcovich didn’t last, and the guitarist once again left the band. A reunited Caifanes, with original members Hernandez and André, are on tour in 2024 with fellow Mexico City rockers Café Tacuba. 

Mexican music journalist David Cortes, who has written several books on Latin American music, said the band was at their creative peak with El Nervio Del Volcán and had established a striking balance between traditional music and foreign sounds. Ultimately, though, the break-up of the band limited its influence over the years. 

"They wanted to go further," he says in Spanish. "And there are hints of where they might have gone."

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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During her lifetime, Jenni Rivera wasn’t just a force in Regional Mexican music — she was one of the genre’s contemporary boundary breakers. From her debut in 1999 to her final bilingual albums in 2011, the Mexican-American icon pushed the male-dominated genre to new places as a female voice, even becoming the best-selling banda singer of all time.

Rivera’s remarkable career was tragically cut short on Dec. 9, 2012,when she died in a plane crash. But even a decade later, her legacy endures, and can also be felt with the women who are emerging in the genre — like her daughter Chiquis, who has followed in her footsteps.

"There's no way that you can sing this type of music, be a woman, and not think of Jenni Rivera," Chiquis tells GRAMMY.com. "The impact that she has makes me proud as another woman in the industry in this genre. And also as her daughter — how I feel proud to say that she was my mom. She broke so many barriers for all women to come. There's never going to be another Jenni, but there are always going to be women who are going to be inspired by her."

Rivera started making waves in the Regional Mexican music genre with her third album, 2000's Que Me Entierren Con La Banda ("Bury Me With the Band"). She solidified her place as banda music's leading lady with the aptly-titled 2005 LP Parrandera, Rebelde y Atrevida (Parrandera, Rebel and Daring), which reflected her rebellious, boundary-pushing spirit. Rivera proudly sang about relationships, sex, and even out-drinking the men at the bar; instead of heartbreak, her songs on breaking up were about resilience and self-love.

"Her music was just raw and very real," Chiquis says. "Everything that she sang, she connected with in some way in her life. What comes from the heart reaches the heart. Even to the end of her career, they criticized her a lot for being a woman in the genre. She never cared. She stood up and said, 'This is who I am and I love myself.' Women feel empowered when they sing to her music, even men [do too]."

Throughout her career, Rivera received four Latin GRAMMY Award nominations. Twelve of her studio albums and posthumous compilations have charted on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart — a rarity for Regional Mexican music artists. She also notched 25 entries on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, with 10 landing in the top 20, including “Inolvidable” and “Ahora Que Estuviste Lejos.”

Ten years after her passing, GRAMMY.com remembers Jenni Rivera with10 essential songs that capture the spirit of her legacy.

"Las Malandrinas," Que Me Entierren Con la Banda (2000)

Rivera first made noise in the banda genre with her girl power anthem "Las Malandrinas." In the rambunctious track, she sang about women drinking, partying and having a good time — even if some viewed it as wicked behavior.

"It's a song that I wrote in honor of my female fans, women who like to party like myself," Rivera once said about the song. "It's the first song that perhaps many of you heard and got to know the voice of Jenni Rivera."

"De Contrabando," Parrandera, Rebelde y Atrevida (2005)

"De Contrabando" is one of the raciest songs in banda music. In the sensual ballad, Rivera sings about sleeping with a man that's already spoken for. It's also one of the songs that showed off Rivera’s vocal range as it fluttered with romantic sensations.

Chiquis remembers that her mother experienced some pushback about recording the song. "My mom was always a very daring woman," she says. "That's the Rebelde y Atrevida type of Jenni. She said, 'I don't care what anyone thinks. This is what I want to sing.'"

"Inolvidable," Mi Vida Loca (2007)

"Inolvidable" is a song that's become Rivera's signature anthem. In the bustling banda track, she sang about her ex-lovers, saying that she was an unforgettable woman in their lives.

Rivera basked in the satisfaction of leaving that impression. The singer dedicated the song to her daughters, saying they had the "Jenni Effect." Chiquis described the "Jenni Effect" as: "It doesn't matter who comes into your life because they're always going to remember you. My mom had that. She touched people and she left an imprint in their lives and their hearts forever, and that's what that song is. She's always going to be here."

"Ahora Que Estuviste Lejos," Jenni (2008)

In "Ahora Que Estuviste Lejos," Rivera counted the ways her life was so much better with her ex-lover out of the picture. Backed by triumphant banda brass, she celebrated being single while lyrically cutting the guy down to size. Chiquis revealed it was inspired by one of Rivera's real-life breakups.

"She was like, 'Know what, now that I know what it is to be single after being with him for so long, I like it,'" Chiquis recalls. "It reminds me of that moment in her life when she found this different side of herself: liberty."

"Chuper Amigos," Jenni (2008)

In true Jenni Rivera fashion, she was ready to party in her boozy banda anthem "Chuper Amigos." She sang about closing down the bar with tequila and her closest friends.

Rivera embraced the looseness of the song with one of the most playful vocal performances in her catalog. The high-energy track was also a popular song during her live shows. "It's a fun song that you hear and no matter what you want to dance," Chiquis says. "The people would go crazy at her concerts. It just puts you into a good mood."

"Ovarios," Jenni: Super Deluxe (2009)

With "Ovarios," Rivera sang about being a woman in charge of her own career. The title in English translates to "ovaries," which she used as a symbol of female strength, in contrast to men who brag about the male anatomy in songs.

Chiquis revealed Rivera also received pushback from recording the swaggering corrido. "[My mom] said, 'I'm going to do whatever I want to do. This is the type of music I listen to. This is the type of music that inspires me and I want other women to feel empowered,’” she recalls. “I think any woman can relate to it and say, 'Hell yeah! I can do it too.'"

"No Llega El Olvido," La Gran Señora (2009)

Rivera embraced mariachi music with "No Llega El Olvido." This time around, she wanted to drink the heartbreak away with an emotional ballad. Rivera dug deep to wring out every lyric that described the post-breakup pain. The track was originally penned by Mexican singer/songwriter Espinoza Paz.

"It's a song my mom interpreted so well," Chiquis says. "It's an anthem. You want to drink and everyone can relate to that song in one way or another. It's crazy to know that it’s one of my mom's most popular songs with it ever being a single."

"Amaneciste Conmigo (Aka Sentirte En Mi Frio)," La Gran Señora (2009)

Rivera embraced ranchera music in "Amaneciste Conmigo (Aka Sentirte En Mi Frio)." In the soaring ballad, she sang about getting caught up in a forbidden romance. The singer powerfully embodied the emotions behind a romance that was withstanding outside criticism.

The song also doubles as an anthem for her fans in LGBTQIA+ community. "She definitely has a huge LGBTQIA+ following and she was very close to them," Chiquis says. "She would enjoy seeing drag queens perform her songs. She would laugh and say, 'Oh my god! The drag queens study me so well.'

Chiquis adds, “I know she would be happy right now to see how many drag queens there are now working and making money off singing her songs and imitating her. I know those are the types of things that made her very proud."

"Basta Ya," Joyas Prestadas (2011)

"Basta Ya" is a classic in Latin music that was penned by Mexican icon Marco Antonio Solís. The song received a pop version and a banda version as part of Rivera’s dual language double album, Joyas Prestadas. Her voice soared as she embodied the message of finding self-love amidst the heartache of a breakup.

Chiquis was the one who told her mom to record the song. "There was a guy that I really liked and he didn't pay attention to me," she says. "I would always ask her to sing it for me because it helped me get through a lot, so that's a very special song for me."

"Misión Cumplida," Misión Cumplida (2022)

This year, Rivera's voice returned with her new single "Misión Cumplida." In the heartfelt banda ballad, Rivera sang about feeling fulfilled by her fans. The song is a part of a posthumous album Misión Cumplida that was released today by her estate.

"With each new release we’re recognizing how much of an icon Jenni Rivera was and continues to be in the eyes and the hearts of her fans," her daughter Jacqie, said in a statement. "What better way to thank them than to give them music to remember her by and continue to help them carry on her legacy."

It's rare that a genre can be traced back to a single artist or group, but for funk, that was James Brown. The Godfather of Soul coined the phrase and style of playing known as "on the one," where the first downbeat is emphasized, instead of the typical second and fourth beats in pop, soul and other styles. As David Cheal eloquently explains, playing on the one "left space for phrases and riffs, often syncopated around the beat, creating an intricate, interlocking grid which could go on and on." You know a funky bassline when you hear it; its fat chords beg your body to get up and groove.

Brown's 1965 classic, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," became one of the first funk hits, and has been endlessly sampled and covered over the years, along with his other groovy tracks. Of course, many other funk acts followed in the '60s, and the genre thrived in the '70s and '80s as the disco craze came and went, and the originators of hip-hop and house music created new music from funk and disco's strong, flexible bones built for dancing.

Legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins learned the power of the one from playing in Brown's band, and brought it to George Clinton, who created P-funk, an expansive, Afrofuturistic, psychedelic exploration of funk with his various bands and projects, including Parliament-Funkadelic. Both Collins and Clinton remain active and funkin', and have offered their timeless grooves to collabs with younger artists, including Kali Uchis, Silk Sonic, and Omar Apollo; and Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, and Thundercat, respectively.

In the 1980s, electro-funk was born when artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish, and Egyptian Lover began making futuristic beats with the Roland TR-808 drum machine — often with robotic vocals distorted through a talk box. A key distinguishing factor of electro-funk is a de-emphasis on vocals, with more phrases than choruses and verses. The sound influenced contemporaneous hip-hop, funk and electronica, along with acts around the globe, while current acts like Chromeo, DJ Stingray, and even Egyptian Lover himself keep electro-funk alive and well.

Today, funk lives in many places, with its heavy bass and syncopated grooves finding way into many nooks and crannies of music. There's nu-disco and boogie funk, nodding back to disco bands with soaring vocals and dance floor-designed instrumentation. G-funk continues to influence Los Angeles hip-hop, with innovative artists like Dam-Funk and Channel Tres bringing the funk and G-funk, into electro territory. Funk and disco-centered '70s revival is definitely having a moment, with acts like Ghost Funk Orchestra and Parcels, while its sparkly sprinklings can be heard in pop from Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, and, in full "Soul Train" character, Silk Sonic. There are also acts making dreamy, atmospheric music with a solid dose of funk, such as Khruangbin’s global sonic collage.

There are many bands that play heavily with funk, creating lush grooves designed to get you moving. Read on for a taste of five current modern funk and nu-disco artists making band-led uptempo funk built for the dance floor. Be sure to press play on the Spotify playlist above, and check out GRAMMY.com's playlist on Apple Music, Amazon Music and Pandora.

Say She She

Aptly self-described as "discodelic soul," Brooklyn-based seven-piece Say She She make dreamy, operatic funk, led by singer-songwriters Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham. Their '70s girl group-inspired vocal harmonies echo, sooth and enchant as they cover poignant topics with feminist flair.

While they’ve been active in the New York scene for a few years, they’ve gained wider acclaim for the irresistible music they began releasing this year, including their debut album, Prism. Their 2022 debut single "Forget Me Not" is an ode to ground-breaking New York art collective Guerilla Girls, and "Norma" is their protest anthem in response to the news that Roe vs. Wade could be (and was) overturned. The band name is a nod to funk legend Nile Rodgers, from the "Le freak, c'est chi" exclamation in Chic's legendary tune "Le Freak."

Moniquea

Moniquea's unique voice oozes confidence, yet invites you in to dance with her to the super funky boogie rhythms. The Pasadena, California artist was raised on funk music; her mom was in a cover band that would play classics like Aretha Franklin’s "Get It Right" and Gladys Knight’s "Love Overboard." Moniquea released her first boogie funk track at 20 and, in 2011, met local producer XL Middelton — a bonafide purveyor of funk. She's been a star artist on his MoFunk Records ever since, and they've collabed on countless tracks, channeling West Coast energy with a heavy dose of G-funk, sunny lyrics and upbeat, roller disco-ready rhythms.

Her latest release is an upbeat nod to classic West Coast funk, produced by Middleton, and follows her February 2022 groovy, collab-filled album, On Repeat.

Shiro Schwarz

Shiro Schwarz is a Mexico City-based duo, consisting of Pammela Rojas and Rafael Marfil, who helped establish a modern funk scene in the richly creative Mexican metropolis. On "Electrify" — originally released in 2016 on Fat Beats Records and reissued in 2021 by MoFunk — Shiro Schwarz's vocals playfully contrast each other, floating over an insistent, upbeat bassline and an '80s throwback electro-funk rhythm with synth flourishes.

Their music manages to be both nostalgic and futuristic — and impossible to sit still to. 2021 single "Be Kind" is sweet, mellow and groovy, perfect chic lounge funk. Shiro Schwarz’s latest track, the joyfully nostalgic "Hey DJ," is a collab with funkstress Saucy Lady and U-Key.

L'Impératrice

L'Impératrice (the empress in French) are a six-piece Parisian group serving an infectiously joyful blend of French pop, nu-disco, funk and psychedelia. Flore Benguigui's vocals are light and dreamy, yet commanding of your attention, while lyrics have a feminist touch.

During their energetic live sets, L'Impératrice members Charles de Boisseguin and Hagni Gwon (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), and Tom Daveau (drums) deliver extended instrumental jam sessions to expand and connect their music. Gaugué emphasizes the thick funky bass, and Benguigui jumps around the stage while sounding like an angel. L’Impératrice’s latest album, 2021’s Tako Tsubo, is a sunny, playful French disco journey.

Franc Moody

Franc Moody's bio fittingly describes their music as "a soul funk and cosmic disco sound." The London outfit was birthed by friends Ned Franc and Jon Moody in the early 2010s, when they were living together and throwing parties in North London's warehouse scene. In 2017, the group grew to six members, including singer and multi-instrumentalist Amber-Simone.

Their music feels at home with other electro-pop bands like fellow Londoners Jungle and Aussie act Parcels. While much of it is upbeat and euphoric, Franc Moody also dips into the more chilled, dreamy realm, such as the vibey, sultry title track from their recently released Into the Ether.

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