Local hip hop/funk band on Cloud Nine

By Steve Gertz

Daily Arts Writer

Over the past decade or so, the "college scene" in Michigan has been riddled with lousy funk bands. You've seen them. Their dark specter still looms over every campus around the state, darkening the doors of frat parties, local bars and ramshackle nightclubs with their flimsy white-boy grooves.

For whatever reason, such groups (stand up, Knee Deep Shag - you too, Botfly) fail to extend their grasp beyond the trappings of Chili Pepper-esque faux-appropriations of funk. They lack groove. They lack soul. Perhaps they might own a few Funkadelic records, but that hasn't stopped the vast majority of them from reeking of a ho-hum blah-ness that is more akin to The Spin Doctors than it is to James Brown or The Meters.

In recent years, however, Ann Arbor has proven itself to be an exception to the rule. Amid the popping basslines and hippyish guitar noodling of their contemporaries, bands like Funtelligence, Transmission and Poignant Plecostomous have spiked their funky punch with welcome doses of hip-hop and free-form jazz, creating a sonic stew that is both inventive and engaging.

It is from such a legacy that Cloud 9 emerges. The band uses relatively traditional funk and jazz instrumentation as a backdrop for the remarkable vocal talents of MC/singer Jamie Register. The resulting amalgam of half-rapped/half-sung lyrics and cooly subtle beats and grooves recalls the organic hip-hop of Lauren Hill and, especially, The Roots. "I think that we have a similar sound to The Roots, but not totally - we are inspired by them and (their mixture of) jazz, R & B and soul" explains Register.

Although most of the band members have been playing together for some time, Cloud 9, as they exist in their present state, have been together for only four months. So far, they have graced The Bird of Paradise and The Blind Pig with their presence and they are looking forward to expanding their horizons. Bass player Donny Osbourne offers "we want to get up to Kalamazoo, Lansing and especially Detroit. There's a lot going on with hip-hop in Detroit right now. We don't want to just be an Ann Arbor band because people will get sick of us."

The band members go out of their way to deliver when playing live, a tendency that has allowed them to build up a considerable local buzz, despite the small number of actual shows that they've played. Cloud 9 places an emphasis on entertainment and positive energy, qualities that are reflected not only in the live format, but in the very philosophy of the band itself. "Too much hip-hop these days is about anger," said Register. "We're about happiness and feeling good. We don't talk about guns. We don't want to flaunt the diamond rings, Rolexes or big-booty girls either. We just want the up-vibes."

While the majority of Cloud Nine's music may consist of the "up-vibes," it does have its serious side, too. Register and co-MC/keyboardist Ryan Stroko use a narrative method of lyric delivery and many of their songs are constructed around stories. "We write all of our lyrics out. We want to avoid being too freestyle - that can get a little repetetive," said Stroko. Some of the tracks contain deeply personal connections. Register describes the structure of one such song, "Hold the Note," "The song" is about a girl who watches her mom go through all these abusive relationships. (The song) builds as the story builds, until she can't take it anymore."

What really distinguishes Cloud Nine from its contemporaries is its rare ability to conjure a sense of genuine substance. The band has, perhaps accidentally, stumbled upon a truly authentic recipe for funk, hip-hop, soul and whatever else, thus placing them in that great Michigan tradition of George Clinton and, before him, the Motown acts. With so many Michigan bands searching endlessly for the almighty groove and coming up empty-handed, it's nice to see that someone has finally found it.

Courtesy of Steve Gertz

Cloud Nine is Mike Blank, Donny Osbourne, Ryan Stroko, Gabe Craft, Justin Brewer and Jamie Register.