Cameo – Word Up!

My copy plays at 33.3 RPM, despite saying 45 RPM.

I believe this item is actually a U.S. item. I have it, and the catalog number is the same. The disc was pressed in Japan.

There's a second CD Video containing Word Up. It's a 10-inch CD Video called "Videosingles": 5 racks: Word Up, Single Life, She's Strange, Candy, Attack Me With Your Love. Phonogram 080-162-9. Made in .

What can I say. Spin baby spin. ha ha yeah!

This song epitomizes sleek, no-nonsense 1980s funk with an electro edge.

The rhythm section, the sparse but sharp horn riffs, the synthesizers and electric guitars together with Larry Blackmon’s flamboyant and over-the-top lead vocals helped produce a timeless masterpiece that never fails to move the crowd. A seminal song in their œuvre, the eponymous track from the album »Word Up!« shows Cameo at their peak and in their finest hour.

Flawless production and a likewise performance rank this cut among the greatest funk tracks ever, as dozens of cover versions continue to prove, ranging from marching bands to honky-tonk to jazz-funk to rock and then some.

If the overused label »essential« ever fit, it would have to be here.

Word. Up.

I recently heard this song and can honestly tell you that it is everything that you love and hate about 80's pop. For it's time, the production is of a descent quality, but it is sadly dated and silly by now. Irresistably fun though, with the old drawn out sounding 'rapping'. Worth a listen, but that's it.

There is a verse in this song that says it all. I can't and won't quote it word-for-word but it basically tells DJs to quit fronting about how cool they are and get back to the music. This is the overlying problem that in my somewhat expert opinion (I've tracked this techno genre since 1992 and know what it means to program for hours on tedious old analog synths and sequencers and drum machines, etc.) has all but rendered techno dead. This ultra-minimal "music"(?) being made these days is NOT cool, it only sounds good when your brain is tweeked out on whatever drugs you're on and is simply the by-product of laziness and ineptitude of those who are too mentally challenged to learn the craft of electronic music production! I don't like old music better because I'm stuck in my limited perception and memories of "the good old days". I like it better because it IS better. More time was put into its making and more brainpower into its conception. Word Up epitomizes this in a few short phrases of words. DJs, quit acting so cool and get back to what really matters - the MUSIC. And yes, much more time was put into this track than the average "techno track" of today. And back then everybody thought its producers were lazy for using these newfangled drum machines and s-synth-e-s-sizers or whatever the hell they're called. Now, producers sample a loop, loop a sample and VOILA! You just made a track! Now go out and score some girls 'cause you're so fuckin' COOL!