On The Verge

Pimps of Joytime

Brooklyn, N.Y.
Part Gangsta, Part Janky
www.thepimpsofjoytime.com

“Everything is on a shoestring, so you want to sound like a million bucks with a hundred bucks in your pocket,” says singer/guitarist Brian J, the mastermind behind Brooklyn electro-funk squad Pimps of Joytime, while working on his band’s new album Janxta Funk! “It’s that attitude.” Pimps of Joytime was born after J quit gigging as a singer/songwriter in Los Angeles and gave into his funk urges. He relocated to Brooklyn, assembled a crew of seasoned funk musicians and they quickly became favorites on the groove touring circuit. But J says it’s not a genre thing. Funk is just a feeling. “Pimps of Joytime could be a bluegrass band and have the same effect on people. You can put energy and soul into any genre,” he says. “In a different lifetime, I could be a country singer.” Janxta Funk!, due in early 2011, improves on Pimps’ 2007 debut High Steppin’ in almost every way—deeper grooves, tighter rhythms, buzzing electronic blowouts, piercing horns and hip-hop scratching. J sums up the work ethic that drives the Pimps with a word he made up: “janxta.” It’s a combination of “gangsta” and “janky.”