Ohio Players, “Fopp” | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 118^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2022), we recollect and reflect on “Fopp” by legendary funk/soul collective, Ohio Players. 

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome – we don’t discriminate ‘round here! In the 118^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2022), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Fopp”, performed by 🎙 Ohio Players. 

Theme & Lyrics ✍

“Fopped last night and the night before / I had to fopp outside and then I went indoors.”  Woo! That’s some fopping right there, 🎙 Ohio Players.  The legendary funk/soul collective was something else in their heyday – an understatement.  Ohio Players’ music was, um, risqué to say the least. 🎵 “Fopp” graces the band’s 1975 album, 💿 Honey, which is best known for the no. 1 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100, 🎵 “Love Rollercoaster”.  Even so, “Fopp” garnered success for the band too, peaking at no. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.  So, what exactly is fopping – that is the question!

Fopping is dancing, evidenced by lyrics like, “Fopped so hard I made the people roar / They stood back and gave me all the floor.” Clearly, Ohio Players front man 🎙 Leroy ‘Sugarfoot’ Bonner has some serious skills on the dance floor, so much so, everybody else lets him do his thing.  That said, given Ohio Players’ risqué musical approach, it seems that a song merely about dancing seems far too innocent.  Don’t let those funky instrumentals and a brand-new word for dance fool you! Bonner isn’t totally being innocent in the second verse when he sings, “Raise your leg and then you hump your back / Do your thing, don’t you give no slack / Shake your hips and then you turn around /… Fopp me right, don’t you fopp me wrong / We’ll be here foppin’ all night long.” All night long, huh? Yeah – there’s more than just dancing going on there OP!

Final Thoughts 💭

Yes, when it comes to Ohio Players, the two biggest hits that come to mind are “Fire” and the aforementioned 🎵 “Love Rollercoaster”.  Still, with such an intriguing catalog, one must not neglect a gem such as 🎵 “Fopp”.  Listening to it is the perfect example of heaven – funk heaven, that is!

🎙 Ohio Players • 💿 Honey • 🏷 UMG Recordings, Inc. • 🗓 1975

Ohio Players, “Fopp”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 118 (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner, Gerhard G., JL G via Pixabay,  Karl Hörnfeldt via Unsplash, The Musical Hype, UMG Recordings, Inc.]