Steve Arrington’s video for “Make A Difference” is autobiographical and a retrospective of several moments of Black achievement. The photos and video comprise Arrington in his younger days, as well as historical figures like Muhammad Ali, Sun Ra, the Wu-Tang Clan, Queen Latifah and snippets of the Black, Lives Matters protests. He also shares a piece of his story with the lyric about his great grandmother being a slave. 

“Make A Difference” is from Arrington’s Down To The Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions. The funk legend trail blazed with the band Slave in the ’70s and ’80s before going solo. After spending years dedicated to his spiritual goals he returned to music in 2009 with his Pure Thang album. His last album was Higher from 2013 in collaboration with Dam-Funk. The current album reveals his evolution over the times and the constancy of his creativity. Watch the Black and White movement of the “Make A Difference” video and stream Down To The Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions which is now available for vinyl pre-orders. 

Funk legend Steve Arrington is back with a new song from his first solo album in 11 years. “Keep Dreamin'” is a feel-good ode to the pursuit of a dream sung in Arrington’s vintage drawl. The artist who emerged in the ’70s with the funk band Slave had success with them in the ’80s thanks to hits like “Just A Touch Of Love” and “Watching You.” He went solo and penned funk classics like “Weak In The Knees” and “Nobody Can Be You But You.” Years later after being away from a recording career he reinvented himself in 2013 on the collaboration album Higher with Däm-Funk. “Keep Dreaming” is on Down To The Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions. Arrington says he envisioned the album years ago and was happy that Stones Throw gave him the opportunity to get it done. Arrington’s return to music hasn’t stopped at his own creative work. In March, he performed “Black Qualls” with Thundercat and Flying Lotus on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Down To The Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions comes on September 18th. [youtube id=”rDzvOfDrEMc”]

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Stone Jam is the fifth album from Dayton funk band Slave and it went Gold with the help of the song “Watching You.” The ever-changing lineup began to reach new levels of success with the emergence of Steve Arrington’s vocals on “Just A Touch Of Love” from the previous album. In the beginning Slave was known for being a group of hardcore funk savants because of the virtuosic contributions of musicians like Mark Hicks on songs like “You and Me.” “Slide” represented the sweatier version of Slave that had less vocal sophistication and a wilder approach. Steve Arrington’s voice lead the band into a classier funk style that was no less compelling than their initial sound. Slave’s creative peak ended with 1981’s “Snapshot” even though they continued to record albums into the ’90’s. Arrington left the group in 1982 and had success with his Hall of Fame project Dancin’ In The Key Of Life in 1985. Members Mark Hick and Mark Leslie Adams Sr. passed in 2011. Steve Arrington and Dam Funk released Higher on Stones Throw in 2013.

Funk legend Steve Arrington and Dam-Funk’s initial recording experience of “Goin’ Hard” has evolved into the full-length album Higher, which is set for an August 6th release. You can watch Steve’s My Story video for those who don’t know him and hear the album stream.