Menahan Street Band


Menahan Street Band is an American, Brooklyn, New York–based instrumental band formed in 2007, that plays funk and soul music. The band features musicians from Antibalas, El Michels Affair, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and the Budos Band. The group was founded by Thomas Brenneck while living in an apartment on Menahan Street in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Their debut album, Make the Road by Walking, was released in 2008 on Dunham, a sublabel of Daptone Records and was followed by The Crossing in 2012.
Various songs from Make the Road by Walking have been sampled by hip hop artists, including the title track, which was sampled by Jay-Z on the track "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)...", "Going The Distance", which was sampled by Kid Cudi on his song "Solo Dolo Pt.II" featuring Kendrick Lamar on Cudi's third studio album Indicud, and "The Traitor," sampled by 50 Cent on his mixtape War Angel LP and by Cudi on his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day. In addition, the song "Tired of Fighting" is used as a primary sample in Kendrick Lamar's "Faith" from his eponymous 2009 EP, as well as YBN Cordae's 2019 track "Family Matters" from his debut album The Lost Boy.
After a ten-year hiatus, the band announced in December 2020 a new album, The Exciting Sounds of Menahan Street Band, which was released in February 2021.

Members

All members are active on the Daptone roster, and most have played together in Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, El Michels Affair, The Budos Band, and/or Antibalas, among other projects.

Discography

Studio albums

TitleAlbum details
Make the Road by Walking
The Crossing
  • Released: October 30, 2012
  • Label: Daptone/Dunham Records
  • Format: LP, CD, digital
  • The Exciting Sounds of Menahan Street Band
  • Released: February 26, 2021
  • Label: Dunham Records
  • Format: LP, digital
  • Collaborative albums

    Singles

    TitleYearAlbumFormat
    "Make the Road by Walking" / "Karina"2006Make the Road by Walking7"
    "The World " / "Heartaches and Pain"2007No Time for Dreaming 7"
    "The Telephone Song" / "Tired Of Fighting"2008No Time for Dreaming 7"
    "The Wolf" / "Bushwick Lullaby"20097"
    "Heart Of Gold" / "In You "2011No Time for Dreaming 7"
    "No Time for Dreaming" / "Golden Rule"2011No Time for Dreaming 7"
    "The Crossing" / "Everyday A Dream"2011The Crossing7"
    "Lights Out / Keep Coming Back"2012The Crossing7"
    "There's a New Day Coming" / "Tommy Don't"20197", digital
    "Queen's Highway"2020The Exciting Sounds of Menahan Street Banddigital
    "Midnight Morning" / "Stepping Through the Shadow"2020The Exciting Sounds of Menahan Street Band7"
    "The Duke" / "Midnight Morning"2021The Exciting Sounds of Menahan Street Band7", digital
    "The Starchaser"2021The Exciting Sounds of Menahan Street Banddigital
    "Devil's Respite"2021The Exciting Sounds of Menahan Street Banddigital

    Split singles

    Australian Tour EP b/w Charles Bradley
    • "Run it Back" b/w Charles Bradley
    • "I'll Slip Away" b/w Rodriguez
    • "Revelations" b/w Charles Bradley
    • "How Did I Get Here?" b/w Larose Jackson

    Guest appearances

    Selected credits