The Dap-Kings are a Brooklyn-based funk and soul band formed around the musicians who emerged from Desco Records' Soul Providers and Mighty Imperials. The group became the house band for Daptone Records and the backing band for singer Sharon Jones, developing a sound rooted in the raw funk and soul of the 1960s and 1970s.
The band's core musicians included Gabriel “Bosco Mann” Roth, Binky Griptite, Homer Steinweiss, Leon Michels, Neal Sugarman, Fernando Velez, Earl Maxton and Anda Szilagyi, among others. Following the closure of Desco around 2000, the musicians regrouped and became the Dap-Kings, with Roth and Neal Sugarman subsequently establishing Daptone Records.
The Dap-Kings recorded extensively with Sharon Jones, beginning with Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings in 2002. Further albums included Naturally (2005), 100 Days, 100 Nights (2007), I Learned the Hard Way (2010), Give the People What They Want (2014) and Soul of a Woman, which was released after Jones' death in 2016. Give the People What They Want received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album.
Away from their work with Sharon Jones, members of the Dap-Kings have recorded and performed with artists including Amy Winehouse, Al Green, David Byrne, Sturgill Simpson, Kesha, Sam Smith, Quincy Jones, Ghostface Killah, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and John Legend. The band played on Amy Winehouse's Grammy-winning, multi-platinum album Back to Black.
The Dap-Kings became central to the modern soul and funk revival, deliberately using vintage recording techniques, instrumentation and arrangements to recreate the feel of classic soul and funk while producing new material. Their work for Daptone helped establish the Brooklyn label as one of the most important homes for contemporary funk and soul.
Following Sharon Jones' death in 2016, the Dap-Kings' work continued through recordings, collaborations and projects involving individual members. Their extensive catalogue of 45s and albums remains closely associated with the modern funk and soul revival and with the distinctive analogue sound of Daptone Records.
