Skull Snaps: The Funk Band Behind a Legendary Breakbeat

Skull Snaps is an American funk band from New York City, best known for their 1973 self-titled album. While the group had limited commercial success, one track from that LP became a foundational sample, profoundly influencing hip-hop and electronic music decades later.

Early career

The band formed in the early 1970s, originally named The Presidents before adopting the more striking moniker Skull Snaps. The core trio consisted of George Bragg, Ervan Waters, and guitarist/songwriter George "Buddy" Hooks. They signed with the small New York label GSF (Gregory, Schwartz and Fogel) and recorded their debut album in 1973.

Breakthrough

Their 1973 album Skull Snaps was not a major chart success upon its initial release. The breakthrough came years later when producers discovered the album's raw, powerful drum break on the track "It's a New Day". This break, known as the "Amen break" of funk, became one of the most sampled drum loops in music history.

Key tracks

It's a New Day — This song's opening drum break is its monumental legacy, sampled on countless hip-hop and electronic tracks since the 1980s.

My Hang Up Is You — A standout soulful ballad on the album, showcasing the group's vocal harmonies and smoother side.

I'm Your Pimp — A gritty, driving funk cut that exemplifies the album's raw, hard-edged sound and attitude.

The band's legacy is almost entirely defined by the sample from "It's a New Day". That breakbeat powered tracks by artists like LL Cool J, Salt-N-Pepa, and Massive Attack, making the obscure album a collector's item. Despite the sample's fame, the original members saw little financial reward from its widespread use in the sampling era.

Skull Snaps attempted a follow-up album in the late 70s, but it remained unreleased for decades. The original 1973 album was reissued on vinyl and CD in the 1990s and 2000s, finding a new audience among funk enthusiasts and beat diggers. Their story is a quintessential tale of a band achieving legendary status not through sales, but through the foundational building blocks of their music.

For fans of raw 1970s funk, similar artists from the same era include The J.B.'s for their instrumental grit and tight rhythms. The Jimmy Castor Bunch also delivered a similar blend of funk, humor, and hard beats. The psychedelic funk edge of Funkadelic shares a kindred spirit with Skull Snaps' sound. For the sample-based legacy, the breakbeat-focused work of The Winstons follows a parallel historical path.

The music of Skull Snaps holds a permanent place in the rotation of dedicated funk radio stations and specialty shows. Their tracks are staples on online radio streams focused on classic soul, rare groove, and the foundational breaks of hip-hop, celebrated for their raw energy and historical importance.

You can hear the influential funk of Skull Snaps on radio stations featured here on onairium.com. Discover their iconic breakbeats and deep cuts through the independent music radio stations available on our platform.