Boulevards is Jamil Rashad, a modern funk songwriter and performer from Raleigh, NC. The son of a jazz radio DJ, Jamil grew up in a house where jazz, blues, R&B and funk was played constantly, encouraging him to get involved in music at an early age. Branching out into punk, hardcore and metal in his teenage years (a self-confessed "scene kid" in the NC area), those sounds would later go on to influence Rashad for their technical precision and tight, economic power.
After a couple stints in local bands and an art school education, the time had come for Jamil to return to his first love: funk—because Boulevards is first and foremost a funk act. In his own words: "party funk jams for the heart and soul to make you move." Following in the footsteps of pioneers like Prince, Rick James and Earth, Wind & Fire, Boulevards synthesizes these precursors with the adventurousness of Talking Heads and Grace Jones, modernizing his sound with current production values and giving a nod to Pharrell and Breakbot alongside both modern and vintage hip hop.
The 4-track EP looks back at the post-disco boogie sound while steadfastly gazing towards the future. Working with producers Isaac Gálvez, Taste Nasa and Rollergirl!, Boulevards has delivered on his promise for party jams. The infectious two-minute incessant bass hook of "Got to Go," the future electro of "Forgot to Mention," the mid-tempo groove of "Honesty" and the Bootsy Collins-meets-Quincy Jones-in-2015 attack of "Sanity" lay down the template for the Shape of Funk to Come. And the funk to come will assuredly be Boulevards.
Jamil has assembled a full band that will collaborate towards bringing his high energy live show to its full potential. Expect to see this already promising, expanded sound infiltrate a variety of venues this upcoming year, with a tour in the works in addition to a forthcoming 2016 release date for Boulevards’ debut LP.1 Got to Go 2 Sanity 3 Forgot To Mention 4 Honesty
