The Blackbyrds

The Blackbyrds are an American rhythm and blues and jazz-funk fusion group, formed in Washington, D.C., in 1973 and their self-titled debut album was released the following year on Fantasy Records and was produced by theMizell Brothers. The album featured the rare groove classic "Do it Fluid" written by Donald Byrd.

With eight albums released for Fantasy from 1974 to 1980, The Blackbyrds became an inspiration to late 1970s and early 1980s British jazz-funk acts such as Light of the World and Hi-Tension. Adrian Gibson of AGMP reformed the Blackbyrds briefly in 1994 to perform a week of sell-out shows at London's Jazz Cafe. The band also released an album of new material in 2012 "Gotta Fly".

More recently, they have made a significant impact on the hip-hop generation with Gang Starr, Da Lench Mob, and Full Force sampling their music. In particular, their 1975 song "Rock Creek Park" from the City Life album has been sampled numerous times by groups and artists such as MF DOOM, De La Soul, Eric B. & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, N.W.A, Massive Attack, Ice Cube, Heavy D, Nas and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Tone Lōc and Wiz Khalifa