14 July 31 - August 6, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents D eep Ellum’s sidewalks are baking just af- ter 6 p.m. on a Sunday as the neighborhood’s bars gradu- ally blink themselves awake, ready for a night of live mu- sic, dancing and drinks this Juneteenth weekend. Fans are already queued up out- side Trees, waiting to hear Filipino-American singer Lyn Lapid. Three Links’ doors are open, and its win- dows are up, spilling the sounds of a local band hop- ing to draw a crowd. But Armoury D.E. on Elm Street is already ahead in that game. The sounds of classic hip-hop began thumping out of its outdoor seating area at 6 p.m., and the place is already packed for its nighttime party, after switching from days to eve- nings for the warmer months. On a hideaway patio, drummer/producer Medrick Greely, aka Medz, is freewheeling some added umph to a Jay-Z song from The Blueprint era in a hideaway patio. He’s banging his snare and kick drums, crashing symbols during parts of the beat. The sound cuts through the noise of traffic and onto the sidewalk, drawing listeners like the Pied Piper’s flute. A security guard counts the number of people he lets into Armoury D.E., ensuring that when it hits capacity, one in and one out. It almost always fills up. Follow the drummer. Open the door and hear Menace the DJ, the Grammy Award win- ner and other half of the duo Branoofunck, spinning classics like T.I.’s “What You Know” before transitioning to Kend- rick Lamar’s “Humble.” It’s only an hour in Branoofunck’s weekly Sunday Sessions at the Armoury D.E., and Menace plays an unexpected blend of Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” to Big Tuck’s “Not a Stain on Me.” “The baddest drummer of the land,” he shouts on the mic, saluting Medz. The pair somehow makes Dipset’s “I’m Ready” even more bombastic. “The church of hip-hop” and “hip-hop’s Wakanda,” as their Branoofam has nicknamed their four-hour jam sessions, is just getting started. Tables are full. Two people are celebrating their birthdays with a group of friends. The OGs in the back have their cigars lit. Camera phones record Medz’s percussion. People are stand- ing in the heat as fans spray mist to keep them cool. It’s a mixed crowd of people of all age ranges: the young and hyped, the mid-30 millennials who love their 2000s hip-hop, and the 40 and 50-year-olds who still got it. Been Down Since BrainDead “N o matter what Branoofunck does, we will never forget those who have been down since Brain- Dead. IYKYK,” the pair wrote on Instagram last month. A day later, the Observer is sitting across from Bra- noofunck at Armoury D.E., hearing their origin story. Six months after the coronavirus pandemic ended, Medz and Menace were playing together at BrainDead on Satur- days, spinning ’80s and ’90s hip-hop while DJ Leo J did his own Sunday Sessions. “Their patio was in the front, and it was open to the street,” Menace said. “We had the whole block,” Medz added. “They got complaints from all the other venues because people would be going to their venue, but walking by like, ‘What the hell is happening over there?’ This is not me trying to brag or nothing, it’s just what happened. We attracted block parties. The police would be dancing with us,” Menace said. “They went from not wanting us to be there for a minute to the same cops going like, ‘Nah, nah, y’all good,’” Medz said. “They started blocking off the place for us.” It was a natural partnership, connecting through their shared appreciation for classic hip-hop and deep cuts. They’re like brothers, born five days apart, and complete each other’s sentences. Their unspoken chemistry means they rarely have to rehearse before shows, keeping their four-hour setlists unpredictable. Medz laughs when Menace says the setlist is never planned because they grew up on the same hip-hop. “I mean the exact stuff that I loved is what he loved,” Menace said. “Everything,” Medz added. “When I’m transitioning from one song to the other and he can barely hear it coming up, he’s already thinking of that next drum break. He’s not deciding when that song comes on, ‘OK, that’s how the drums go now, I’ll match them.’ He already knew. You know what I mean? As the song is chang- ing to the other one, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is special,’” Menace said. Raekwon has co-signed Branoofunck as the duo repre- senting “Dallas to the full- est.” They’ve opened for Talib Kweli, GZA, KRS-One, Large Professor, Warren G and Bone Thugs-N-Har- mony. They’re hip-hop pur- ists, with many of the genre’s greatest MCs recognizing that. They’re encyclopedias of hip-hop, and you can tell that by how Medz matches every drum note in the songs or Menace mouths the lyrics in the background, some- times with a drink in hand. Their name, Branoofunck, comes from DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s “Brand New Funk.” It’s one of their favorite songs. “There’s a particular verse where Fresh Prince starts going, ‘You shoulda seen the people dancin’ and shakin’ and movin’ and jumpin’ and spin- nin’’ and everything. And he started drumming that,” Menace said. “And I was like, ‘Oh, we’re best friends.’” “Even the first verse of the song describes us perfectly,” Medz said. “It’s new, it’s out of the ordinary, it’s rather ex- traordinary. I mean it’s just us all the way through.” Home Is Where the Heart Is M usic industry veterans, Medz and Menace sought a spark to keep their passion in hip-hop without quit- ting. Medz was tired of touring and close to burning out. He gave up playing in 17 bands, with a few touring, to do Branoofunck. “I don’t want to tour anymore,” Medz said. “I’m doing what I love, and I’m making more money at home.” Medz was tired of missing graduations and birthdays to be on the road. He was wrapping up a tour with TryMore MOJO right after the pandemic. He first heard of Menace on the radio and remembered his name because of how clean his transitions were from one song to the next. He saw Men- ace DJing at Trees and Sandaga 813, struck by how he was educating the crowd by playing the original samples before certain songs. Menace was speaking Medz’s language, an ex- change of hip-hop history and knowledge that comes with being a student of the genre. He DM’ed him, asking if they could play together. “I said, ‘Man, look, I’m coming off tour. I’m a big fan. I would love to play with you,’” Medz recalled. “I do this thing on the side, but I’d rather do this with you. He was like, ‘All right, well, come on and set up.’ I was like, ‘When?’ He said, ‘Saturday.’” “It was at BrainDead,” Menace said. “He was like, ‘Come on down.’ … The driver for the tour band drops me off on the corner, and I pull out my drumset right then and there,” Medz said. “I haven’t been on that damn tour bus since.” Menace, who has been DJing since he was 15, was ready Mike Brooks ▼ Music THE PARTY NEVER STOPS Branoofunck’s drawing crowds of young and not-so-young 2000s hip-hop lovers to the happiest dance floor in Deep Ellum. BY ERIC DIEP Drummer Medrick Greely and Menace the DJ are Branoofunck.
