Impressive musicianship and stellar vocals make for another slice of Cincinnati funk on Counterpart Records that is able to command a decent two figures at auction:
“Hang Up Your Hang-Ups“
Umoja
As with 400 Years of What‘s “Get Down People,” this one-off 45 — Umoja‘s sole musical gift to the world — was recorded at Shad O’Shea‘s Counterpart Creative Studios.
Sadly, there is little to no information about this group out there. Nathaniel Best, Jr., who co-wrote the song, would release a spiritual album in 1986, Set Your House in Order, while the song’s other co-creator, John Stuckey, Jr., would work with Huey P. Meaux in the 1970s on a 45 (“Seeds and Stems“) and a full-length album (A Little Exposure).
Note on the label above that the song length is marked as “3:41,” while YouTube’s time counter reports the song as only being 2 minutes and 51 seconds in length. What gives?
