These days, rappers performing with live bands barely raise an eyebrow. Thirty years ago, it was all but unheard of, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, a region synonymous with Indy Rock and Grunge. That said, in 1992 a collective of twenty-somethings came together to experiment with a sound at the intersection of James Brown style Funk and lyrically driven Hip-Hop. The result: Five Fingers Of Funk. Five Fingers Of Funk began as a five-piece backing up MC Pete Miser but quickly exploded into a ten-man behemoth including a three-piece horn section and DJ Chillest Illest on turntables. The band established itself as a major draw at Portland music venues through its energetic shows that inspired writer SP Clarke to report “if you can’t party to this shit, you must be dead.” By the late-nineties, Five Fingers Of Funk had expanded their reach from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine and everywhere in between. The band remained fiercely independent, self-releasing three full-length albums and sharing stages with Funk legends Maceo Parker and Bootsy Collins as well as Hip-Hop icons Run DMC, De La Soul, and others. In 2023 the band has reunited to make Portland Say It Again, its first album with the original line up since 1998.