Blakats

Gilbert "G-Funk" Alipui, guitarist and composer, hails from Ghana in West Africa where he grew up listening to "Highlife" and other poly-rhythmic African music on his parents' old gramophone. His father was a Ghanaian Foreign Affairs official. As a result of worldwide travel going on postings with his parents, he was further exposed to myriad musical genres ranging from Cameroonian Makossa, Ethiopian music, Zouk, Zaïrois, and Kassave to classical, country, soul, R&B, and Reggae. He took up the violin in the Czech Republic after an Egyptian friend introduced him to it. Upon returning to Ghana, all the cool kids in his neighborhood played either piano or guitar. Never one to lag behind, G-Funk promptly learned a few chords on an old acoustic guitar he found in his parents' storage and formed a band. Thus began G-Funk’s musical career.

David "Hollywood" Ely started singing in his father’s church at age five. His first out-of-church singing gig was with his sister Debby. They would charge friends and family five cents for a song, ten cents for special requests. The first time he got paid, he was hooked and knew he had found his calling. He has been singing and entertaining audiences all over the world ever since; previously as lead singer for "Hawkeye”, and currently as lead singer, percussionist, and spectacular showman for "Soul from the Source" (SFTS). Not much else needs to be said about Hollywood except, when you see him in action, you will understand why he is called "Hollywood".

Donald "Dee-Man" Poole is BlaKats' beat-master, vocalist, keyboardist, and vocals arranger. Dee is a former band-mate and roommate of G-Funk. He made a big impression on G-Funk with his skill at coaxing stellar performances out of singers, rappers, and other musicians. Dee, for his part, credits G-Funk’s constructive criticism for helping him develop his advanced mixing and production skills. After the band break-up, neither one forgot about the other, so later, when BlaKats sought to boost their drum tracks and vocal arrangements, Dee was the obvious choice. Ever the schemer, G-Funk arranged for Hollywood and Dee to work on some projects, whilst finishing school, at which time the new BlaKats was born!