breaking
B O U LE VA R DS
Her advice? “Jamil, you need to go
solo.” Rashad calls that his light-bulb
By Lydia Pudzianowski
moment. “I started trying to find my
PHOTO BY Daniel Topete
sound,” he says. “I knew I wanted to
For Boulevards—a.k.a. Jamil create something that was high energy,
Rashad—fluency in all things and I started writing pop songs and
funk is a matter of DNA. “My listening to a lot of Top 40 radio, trying
BACKSTORY: Former punk-rocker Jamil Rashad, who relaunched his career as
a dancefloor groover under the nom de funk Boulevards in 2013
FROM: Raleigh, North Carolina
YOU MIGHT KNOW HIM FROM: Last year’s self-titled, self-released EP or the
instantly charming video for single “Got to Go”
NOW: Preparing for a slew of dance parties on tour to support the April release
of his debut LP, Groove!, on Captured Tracks
14
FLOOD
dad works at a radio station,” says
to find my niche. I was always writing
Rashad. “He’s from Philadelphia, so his
music, but it took me a long time to find
background in Philly soul and jazz and
out what I wanted to do.”
funk music definitely influenced the
That’s when funk found him again.
music I write now.”
“I wish I would’ve known this earlier,
That “now” is important, because
but that’s my thing,” he says. “I just
it’s been a long road. In high school and
didn’t know how to express that funk.”
college, the Raleigh native spent most
spare minutes honing his craft. “I was on
and the records that helped define
the computer making beats all the time,”
him, he mentions Kool & the Gang’s
says Rashad. “And one night, somebody
Celebrate!
stole my laptop, so I didn’t know what to
emphasizes Rick James’s Throwin’
do. I kind of gave up on production. I was
Down and Street Songs, as well as the
listening to decent rappers at the time.
work of Prince. “Controversy. Scratch
Myspace was hot. When that went away,
that: Sign ‘O’ the Times,” he says.
I kind of fell in love with the technical
With Groove!, his full-length debut
aspect of punk music.”
as Boulevards, Rashad pays homage
Yes, he said “punk,” not “funk.” The
to those influences by respectfully
overlap is not necessarily obvious, but it’s
reinventing them. His vocal flourishes
significant—and the energy contained
recall everyone from Michael Jackson
in a room full of sweaty music lovers
to Prince’s alter ego Camille (who,
jumping and dancing is a major part of it.
appropriately, pops up on Sign ‘O’ the
“The double bass drum, the shredding,
Times). The message of Grandmaster
the guitar solos—I was fascinated with
Flash runs through “Cold Call,” but not
that scene,” says Rashad. “My punk and
verbatim. “Got to Go” is gone in just over
hardcore music is still somewhere on
two minutes, but if you’re not dancing
the Internet. I won’t say the name, but if
by then, you may need to see a doctor.
people dig deep enough, you can hear me
screaming on some tracks.”
for Rashad, the new prince of good
The
inception
of
When he talks about inspiration
and
OutKast,
but
he
So what’s a typical night like
Boulevards
times and party vibes? He’s still
specifically can be traced back to the
studying up by listening to music—
breakup of Rashad’s hardcore band.
at home. “I usually stay in. When I go
He recalls sitting at a restaurant with a
out, I go out with my lady.” All in the
friend after one of the band’s final shows.
name of funk.