Truth be told, UK funky never really died.

It might not be as popular as it once was when K.I.G Family’s “Heads, Shoulders, Knees & Toes” came out, or when Marcus Nasty and Smooth Fuego regularly span funky at raves, but the essence of the hybrid genre still remains a decade later. Even then it’s difficult to call it a hybrid genre solely, because while it had a close relationship with grime, what it merely did was act as a gateway for fans who hadn’t quite formed a bond with funky house. Not too long before UK funky blew up, bassline/4x4 was still alive and kicking—especially with tracks like “Heartbroken”, T2 and Jodie Aysha’s hit-single from 2007. Maybe in a more surreptitious manner, songs such as “Heartbroken” (which I personally recall being a favourite when I turned 18) allowed UK funky to attract similar audiences. Of course they’re both completely different sounds, but one of the mainstays in British popular music has always been underground dance genres of black origin—it was only a few years prior when garage was the prominent sound.

While traditional funky house could be heard in songs with vocalists such as Meleka’s “Go” and Geeneus and Katy B’s “As I”, the grime tinge in UK funky bridged two worlds that made it that much easier for the latter sound to remain inside the clubs, especially with Boy Better Know somewhat ‘legitimising’ UK funky in audience’s eyes with “Too Many Man”, which also charted. The heavy use of synths and a 130BPM more typically suited to grime artists, which also happens to be the standard these days, was all UK funky really needed at the time to grow. And even the somewhat corny dance routines were all part of a culture, but its haphazard nature meant it was short lived—at least on a mainstream level.

With quality control and resources much more accessible for artists, as well as a more established genre of grime to build from, UK funky is probably in the best position it’s ever been for a return to popularity. It was only in 2016 when Drake, the global rap star, sampled Crazy Cousinz and Kyla’s “Do You Mind” on “One Dance”, prompting fans to debate over whether there was a climate in which UK funky could return—and if there were an artist to make it possible, it’s one as ubiquitous as Drizzy. While “One Dance” proved to be a hit, it led the way to Afrobeats and the more hybrid Afro-swing to ascend to popularity, especially with Wizkid lending his name to the song. The only roadblock to a successful return, at least the most glaring one, is the current popularity and trajectory of Afroswing. While it’s clear that Afroswing is a culmination of genres that are shaping the direction of black British underground sounds, UK funky is a retrospective one made for those who came of age in the late 2000s.

Many considered UK funky once to be close to parodical, with wider audiences chastising it for not being a ‘proper house sound’. However, with whitewashed dubstep taking precedence in the late 2000s and grime still finding its bearings in London’s nightlife, there’s still room for UK funky to find its place in the UK’s crowded underground scene. To say UK funky died would also be a slight against one of dance music’s most prolific producers and artists, Donae’O. Party Harder, the rapper and singer’s latest project released at the top of the year, has all the ingredients of a refined UK funky sound, one that relies far less on gimmicky dances and punchlines and instead puts the sound first.

To be honest, you wouldn’t expect anything less from an artist like Donae’O, but it also accentuates that in order for a successful return, he could be pivotal in bringing a new school of artists together. The J Huses, Yxng Banes, Not3s and MoStacks of the world are now the leading names in Britain’s underground music scene, which is becoming more and more blurred by the day. At the moment, we’re caught in a strange place where UK garage and grime found themselves in the early 2000s where no one knew what to call it; we’re now in that same place with Afrobeats and its various mutations. It’s quite unlikely that many of these artists will venture into the realm of dance music; Afroswing is still very young, and is in much need of incubation. Or maybe UK funky was one of the sounds that served its purpose for the moment it was in and there’s no chance of a revival?

A lot has changed since a decade ago—the tools are now available and social media has made it that much easier for underground acts to gain a following, particularly with Black Twitter. However we know that artists take inspiration from obscure and sometimes defunct sounds, and with UK funky present in many of our lives growing up, it’s still not too distant to make a solid return one day, and hopefully, that day will come soon.