Strange as it seems,
Hello Happiness is the first originals-oriented
Chaka Khan release since 1998's Come 2 My House. Whereas the aughts LPs ClassiKhan and
Funk This were based on standards, covers, and updates, this EP is mostly new, created with a cast led by Sarah Ruba Taylor and partner
Switch -- aka David Taylor, producer of
M.I.A. and
Major Lazer fame, not to be confused with the band who gave us Tommy and
Bobby DeBarge. Its germ is in the Taylors' appearance on the soundtrack of
The Get Down, for which they fused
the Fatback Band's 1975 funk classic "(Are You Ready to Do) The Bus Stop" to a like-spirited number fronted by Sarah Ruba. That track gets new life here as "Like Sugar," a funky and inciting vamp that, as the lead single, sets the tone for a retro-contemporary feel-good set. Synthetically souped-up twists on the slick and euphoric dancefloor funk of the late '70s likewise shape "Hello Happiness" itself and "Like a Lady," with
Masterjam cut "Any Love" the closest vintage
Khan analogy. The remainder is rooted in other bygone sounds, from mid-'60s New Orleans R&B to early-'80s Compass Point reggae. Best of the lot is "Isn't That Enough," built on a loping riddim in the mold of
Sly & Robbie's work on
Grace Jones' cover of "Nightclubbing," though
Khan is uninhibited and impassioned, as always. Even when a surplus of synthesizers, organs, and flame-throwing guitars threaten to overtake her elsewhere, she cuts straight through with full-tilt, life-affirming power. ~ Andy Kellman