Joe Bataan, "Rap-O Clap-O"

The last day - indeed, the last panel - of the EMP Pop Conference saw musicologists discussing work that either never saw the light of day or simply did not see enough of it. This was the most educational part of the conference for me; I finally gained some exposure to the dirty funk of Betty Davis (fascinating, but I'll take Millie Jackson over her, as underserved '70s R&B goes) and learned that Chic produced an album for Johnny Mathis in 1981, I Love My Lady, that was never released at all.

And I was introduced to "Rap-O Clap-O," a fun slice of period street rap from a half-black, half-Filipino man named Joe Bataan whose lack of mainstream U.S. success in part owed to his not being fully embraced by either community. The tune's infectious clapping is followed by a groove in the "Best of My Love"/"Got to Be Real" vein, then some not-half-bad rapping (no worse than Sugarhill, surely), light on the boasting and heavy on the dance-floor motivation. I don't post nearly enough dance music here, so rock back and enjoy this one for a few minutes.

PS: Bataan also recorded a cover of Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle" that is well worth seeking out.