A group spawned from a planet where funk is the universal language.
Art: The Front man… Arthur Thomas Alias is The Funk Child. Designated leader of The Funkitorium. The name of the Game is to Restore Funk Music in the Universe. Let All Get On The One ☝🏾
Jusman: Bass & MD… Outgoing and perseverant, but humble and cool at the same time. He loves to take on roles that challenges him and that pushes him to be even better than he currently is. When its Go Time! Its MAMBA Time!
Re-Mus: Vocals… A singer, songwriter, producer, and jeweler by trade. Inspired by the likes of Music Soulchild, Stevie Wonder, Rick James, James Brown, and the late great Michael Jackson.
Cam: Percussion & Drums… Cam “Joe” Cephas, from West Philly, is a multi talented underdog. Short in stature but his sound is big. He’s currently with The Funkitorium helping expand the sound of funktar while also growing in his own sound. You’ll know when you hear him, and you won’t forget it.
Chops: Drums… Laid back passionate hardworking and always willing to put others before him.
N Dot: DJ/Emcee… A staple in music for eons in the Philly scene, affectionately dubbed Yoda by his circle for his versatility and his wisdom. He is what you call a studio rat no matter what the discipline its for rather it being for djing, songwriting, emceeing or producing. Dot is also huge on the movement for artists rights and education.
Zavetis: Guitar… A guitar man of many musical hats, Zavetis channels the holy cosmic land of funktar most explicitly through gifts of songwriting, singing, and the overall organization of sound through any instrumental means necessary. Some know him to answer to the earthly name Nate, but his fellow Funktarians know him well as the Z man, the 6 String Assasin, and the Master Shredder.
Dan: Keys… Dan is the youngest of the band but can be seen in photos from anywhere in the world in the same week, one of the most sought after key players of this era. But to be honest if you want to know a good food spot he is the go to guy.
“The Funkitorium” was birthed in Philadelphia, PA, March 2019 after a few months of filtering, the band finally found a crew that fits. Those Artists are Lead Vocalist “Arthur Thomas”, Vocalist “Re-Mus”, Guitarist “Zavetis”, Bassist “The Jusman”, Drummer “Chops”, DJ “Ndot", Dan “The Man" on keys, and last but not least, Cam on Percussion/Drums. The Funkitorium was assembled like one of the super teams that you see in sports by front man Arthur Thomas. The band became a group with a chemistry that you don’t see that often - the brotherhood between them all plays a huge part in their success.
Before they made their way to Planet Funktar, the band who Philadelphia knows as Arthur Thomas and The Funkitorium started to grow in 2018 at N-Dot’s studio in Southwest Philadelphia. It was perfect timing for Arthur Thomas, known as hip hop artist Slikk, to meet with producer N-Dot, who both had issues with the way their music careers were going. Arthur was looking to go another route with his music and grow to be a rapper turned funk singer, which was right up N-Dot’s production. The two started working together in Arthur’s studio and The Artistry Collective Studio, getting Arthur to become more comfortable being slick on melodies the way he did with his rap lyrics. The experimentation with Arthur’s new funky flow sliding on N-Dots soulful gritty beats ended up creating The Funkitorium’s first single “How You Like Me Now?” This new sound the two artists created led to Arthur testing it out at and open mic event created by his good friend/hip hop artist, James Weldon, called The Juice Jam, which lead to the two of them meeting the people they would refer to as band mates/brothers.
In 2019, the Juice Jam was held at an Ethiopian restaurant/bar called Dahlak. It was a jam session that attracted talented up and coming music artists like musicians, singers, rappers, & etc., who wanted a place to perform and collaborate with their peers. Like many of the artists that came to The Juice Jam, Arthur was eager to test this new sound with a band and his eagerness lead him to talented artists. His song about only having $20 in his pocket, caught the ear of soul singer Re-Mus, who’s falsettos were consistently making a reputation at The Juice Jam. Arthur’s funk energy made Re-mus agree to take this funk journey with him when they discussed forming a band. Arthur then also reached out to Justin, a laidback bass player who was coming to The Juice Jam so much he eventually became the events house band The Experience, about joining the band, who was automatically down with the idea. Nate was in every iteration of Arthur’s band, the guitar wielding solo genius and showman. The journey seemed to have come to an end when Arthur met Chops, an eager drummer who was ready to venture out and take his skills outside just playing for his church. But it wasn’t until Chops asked why N-Dot practiced with them but didn’t perform as well. The producer added his skills on turntables to this groove collection. The creation of the league of gentlemen of funk was finally completed, and after endless sessions jamming with each other they tested their West Philly funk on stage for the first time at World Cafe Live.
Arthur decided to sign him and his brothers up for a chance to perform at the Beta Hi Fi event at World Cafe Live. Once they got the chance, they took advantage of it and rocked the stage that night. That performance caught the attention of Philadelphia public radio station WXPN, who went on to reach out to them to do an in studio session. That session led them to signing with Spring Garden Records in November 2019, then ended the year of reaping the benefits of their hard work by playing at World Cafe Live again for Philly Funk Fest.
While the world shut down due to Covid-19, the group took time to record and put out singles “How You Like Me Now?”, and “Fried Chicken”, for their upcoming debut album Welcome To Funktar, and performing at any shows they could get, such as the 2020 Philly Music Fest and The Queen in Wilmington, Delaware. However, when things started to open back up, the group came out swinging with a vengeance. First, they dropped their debut album, "Welcome To Funktar", on 2/26/2021. New songs like “Money Man,” Brown Skin Betty,” and “Slow Down,” made their city excited to hear new music from the band, but even more excited to see them perform. Arthur decided to include more members to his funk collective and reached out to drummer Cam and keyboard player Dan. The two young musicians who were making names for themselves at the Juice Jam as well as performing with jazz band Omar’s Hat and hip hop artists Ivy Sole, were excited to join the Funkitorium, who they look to as older brothers. The new addition gave Arthur Thomas and The Funkitorium all the fuel they needed to rock out at three music festivals; their first Funktober, S’morefest and 2021 XPN fest, opening up for acts such as Savannah Cristina, Elhae, Masego, The Record Company and Los Lobos.
Individually all 8 of these music artists incredibly dope, but together Arthur Thomas and The Funkitorium are a force to be reckoned with. The music and their live performances show that funk music is a genre that is enjoyable to people of all ages and races.