The Obama Boom economy has a very late 70’s feel to it. Anemic economic growth, lackluster job growth and a declining standard of living. The song Get Lucky by French Electro-House group Daft Punk featuring American Rapper/Producer Pharrell Williams captures both the late 70’s and the early 201o’s. The song which is a big hit overseas is currently #4 on the Billboard charts and is popular in the club scene sounds like a late 70’s Funk/Disco track.
Daft Punk has been around since the 1990’s and have claimed that German Electro group Kraftwerk was their influence. Their first big hit was in 1997 with the song The Funk.
Pharrell Williams who I actually met once when I visited The Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas back in 2002, is a member of the Neptunes production team, who also were influenced by Krafwerk. Their fist big break was Queens, NY Rapper Norega’s ( Who I actually know from DJing back in the early 90’s) Super Thug back in 1998.
The Song reintroduce Electronic beats to Rap Music. The Neptunes went on to produce big hits in the early 2000’s by Usher, The Clipse, Kelis, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani and many others. Pharrell took a break from the Music Industry in 2007 and has now returned in 2013 to team up with Daft Funk for Get Lucky.
Both Daft Funk and Pharrell cite Kraftwerk as an influence, so this collaboration is actually a natural one. Kraftwerk’s 1975 Trans Europe Express influenced Hip Hop, Electro, House and techno.
Another Kraftwerk track that was influential was 1980’s the Model.
Kraftwerk is one of the most influential music groups of the last 40 years. The collaboration between Daft Punk and Pharrell is just one of this band’s many legacies.
