Go-go

Go-go is a popular music subgenre associated with funk originating in the Washington, D.C. area during the mid-60s to late-70s which remains popular in the Washington metropolitan area as a uniquely regional music style. Some early bands credited with having developed the style are the Young Senators, Black Heat, and singer-guitarist Chuck Brown. Go-go is a blend of funk, rhythm and blues, and old school hip-hop, and as such, primarily a dance hall music with an emphasis on live audience call and response. In the 1990s and 2000s, more and more of a hip-hop influence became apparent in go-go, but there is also a retro movement going back to its original style of marathon sessions incorporating popular contemporary R&B songs. In recent times, law enforcement has affected the performance of go-go music, blamed by some on gentrification of the old neighbourhoods.