RJD2 goes over the top with funky instrumental “20 Grand Palace”

RJD2 just shared a new single, “20 Grand Palace,” from his forthcoming album The Fun Ones, which comes out April 17 on RJ’s Electrical Connections. We previously heard the album’s lead single “Pull Up On Love.” An old version of “20 Grand Palace” has been floating around on the internet for a few years, but RJD2 wanted to push it “over the top” on the new album. The track opens quietly with clarinet and strings, and quickly turns into a funky horn-driven tune that the beatmaker says is inspired by Patrice Rushen and Chaka Khan.

“Initially released as a loosie on the internet, I always felt like the track needed a final push to put it over the top,” RJ shares. “After sitting with it for over a year, it came to me that my good friend and drummer Chuck Palmer is also a phenomenally talented string arranger. In conjunction with Dave Eggar, they executed the perfect string arrangement that is totally adventurous and still completely catchy to the ear. They knocked it out the park!”

The Fun Ones will be RJD2’s seventh solo album and first since 2016’s DameFortune. Its sound is inspired by “the basic DNA of hip-hop and funk music,” according to a press release, and it includes samples from many of RJ’s contemporaries, including Phonte Coleman, J-Zone, Kid Koala, Mr. Lif, and Son Little. Listen to “20 Grand Palace” below.