The new seven-track EP will be released on vinyl opposite the duo’s original 2021 effort on side A. Two EPs on one LP. A digital release will follow on Aug. 27.
“Safe Money II” was produced at Columbus’ Dreamcatchers Recording Studio in by Rizo, who also produced the first Safe Money EP and TINO’s highly-anticipated solo tape, “Past Due.”
This EP’s lead single, “First in Funk,” dropped in June and pays homage to Zapp, the influential 1970s electro-funk band from Dayton, and to the legacy of funk music that this area birthed, like Lakeside and the Ohio Players. The title is also a clever homage to Dayton, the birthplace of aviation.
The unapologetic refrain from “First in Funk” (“I don’t care what people say”) was sampled from the Zapp song “Heartbreaker (Pt. I, Pt. II),” which also shares the distinct talk box vocal Zapp is known for in hits like “Computer Love” and “I Want To Be Your Man.” Safe Money’s use of that refrain is two-fold: it’s a nod to Daytonians who came before, while also solidifying the duo’s status as one of the rightful heirs to continue the area’s sound.
“Bringing it back home is really what we try to do,” said TINO. “The last [Safe Money EP] was like the first wave of funk, but this one is more of getting into that digital sound that Zapp pioneered. A lot of times, when people hear that, they think West Coast. It originated here. We wanted to make sure that we connect the dots, to up the level of Dayton-ness.”
The music video for the single, shot at Dayton’s Canal Street Arcade and Deli, is a tribute to 1980s and 1990s movie montages and the legacy of Dayton music.
“SMN,” the first track off the EP, toes the line between the satirical and the earnest. K.Carter and TINO role-play as meteorologists and eye-in-the-sky traffic reporters on the Safe Money News Network, trading verses on the miserable conditions rainstorms, bottlenecks and construction zones are causing. They throw to one another, parodying TV news while also venting about the climate of humankind and offering this bit of advice: stay safe and get money.
“I’ve always tried to incorporate all facets of my life into my music,” TINO said. “Humor is a natural part of it. If you just went through life without a soundtrack or a laugh track... man, it’d be real brutal out on these streets.”
“Everybody has a wall, but once you can make somebody laugh you can start really talking,” added K.Carter, who also performs at Black Box Improv every Friday night. “We picked [’SMN’] not necessarily because of the funniness of it, but more on the idea that it introduces the next album. It shows creativity.”
And while “Safe Money II” has comedic bits throughout, they are used sparingly: a pragmatism that softens the blow of the duo’s serious and insightful raps.
Safe Money is ultimately a side project for TINO and K.Carter, both of whom have fairly prolific solo careers. Individually, the two have produced several albums and singles, and are featured on more tracks than can be economically mentioned here.
TINO recently went on a Tour de France, which he’ll humbly refer to as a few “showcases” near the Eiffel Tower. K.Carter frequently improvises on the Novelizers Podcast, a show otherwise occupied by top comedy writers and national talent.
But just because the two artists are preoccupied with other endeavors doesn’t make Safe Money a back burner project; it creates anticipation for whatever’s next, and grants the project the space to evolve.
Shortly after the first Safe Money record released in 2021, K.Carter tried convincing TINO that it was time to make the next one.
“If we did it right away, I feel like it was gonna sound exactly like the last one,” TINO said. “I wanted to have a more fierce sound, more driven.”
You can hear that fierceness all over “No Decorum,” “Shaq & Kobe,” “Back & Forth” and the rest of the record.
As the hip-hop duo’s latest release proves, it takes time to discover and develop a new style, even if that means the rest of us will have to wait another few years to round out this trilogy of Safe Money EPs.
“Safe Money II” not only pays tribute to the legacy of Dayton funk via fresh sounds, the album also provides context to trace the lineages of influence that led to it.
“We always give props,” K.Carter said. “We respect the people who pave the way.”
How to go
What: Safe Money’s “Safe Money II” album release, with P the Emcee, Kyler Paul, Nova and the Luv Locz Experiment
When: 8 p.m. Aug. 24
Where: Yellow Cab Tavern (700 E. 4th St., Dayton
Tickets: $12 presale, $15 at the door. This is an all ages event.
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