Lafayette Afro Rock Band were an influential funk outfit in the 1970s formed in America but based in Paris, France, where they performed and recorded a handful of albums including 'Malik' (1972), which included the song 'Darkest Light' and 'Soul Makossa' (1973) which included the song 'Hitache'. 'Darkest Light', which featured a saxophone solo by Leroy Gomez, was sampled on many later recordings including 'Show 'Em Whatcha Got' by Public Enemy, 'Show Me What You Got' by Jay Z and 'Mad Love' by Britney Spears, with 'Hitache' also being sampled on tracks such as 'Jingling Baby' by LL Cool J, 'Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit' by Wu-Tang Clan and 'This Is How We Do It' by Montell Jordan.
They started out as the Bobby Boyd Congress in New York but the front man left when the other members moved to Paris in an attempt to stand out from the crowded funk scene in America. They performed briefly as Soul Congress and changed their name to Lafayette Afro Soul Band after they were signed by producer Pierre Jaubert and released their first album 'Each Man Makes His Own Destiny' in 1972. The line-up variously featured Larry Jones on acoustic guitar, Michael McEwan on electric guitar, Lafayette Hudson on bass, Frank Abel on keyboards, Ronnie James Buttacavoli and Arthur Young on horns, Ernest 'Donny' Donable on drums and Keno Speller on percussion. The band found receptive audiences in Europe and Japan if not widely in America but disbanded in 1978. Three compilation albums are available: 'Afon' (2000), 'Ultimate Collection' (2001) and 'Darkest Light: The Best of the Lafayette Afro Rock Band' (2009).
