funkmusicguide - Badd Kitti

Badd Kitti’s Essential Guide to Funk Music

Written by Dianne Thompson

Funk is one of the most influential, and most misunderstood music genres of the 20th Century. It has flavored nearly every popular American genre, traveled to almost every continent, and laid the foundation for the bulk of contemporary dance music over the past fifty years. Yet, ask ten people the question, “what is funk?”, and you’ll get ten different answers – even from funk’s most famous innovators.

In this essential guide will provide a clear and concise overview of funk music, it’s identifying elements, history, evolution, and the artists that made important contributions to it’s development. I’ll also provide a guide to the various styles and sub-genres of funk and funk-influenced music that have developed around the world in the past half century.

Navigate Topics

What is Funk?
The Birth of Funk Music
Important Funk Bands and Albums
Funk Sub-Genres
Funk Around the World
Funk Music Today

What Is Funk?

George Clinton once said, “Funk is what ever it has to be at the time that it is”. While Prince stated, “If you have to ask, then you’re doing it wrong”! Part of the mystery of Funk is that even those who helped to popularize the genre have declined to clearly define it.
So then, what is Funk?

James Brown, the definitive creator of funk, describes it this way: “funk…is really jazz”. Of course, like most forms of African American music, funk also contains elements of gospel and blues. However, the best way to describe funk is by it’s rhythmic characteristics.
I. First and foremost, funk music is a rhythm distinguished by an emphasis on the downbeat of the first beat in a measure – better known as The ONE.
II. [1] Funk is derived from Afro-cuban traditions and conceptual approaches of music making, which include:
1. Singing or playing instruments in a rhythmic manner (i.e. playing every instrument as if it were part of a drum ensemble.
2. Call and response – this can comprise both interaction between musical instruments and audience participation
3. The use of syncopation to fill up musical space
III. Traditional funk emphasizes rhythm over melody, a song often using only one chord, and most likely in a minor key.
IV. The bass guitar tends to be the lead melodic instrument, playing in a repetitive pattern. The other instruments in the rhythm section play counter rhythms that interlock with the bass.

[1] Olly Wilson, The Heterogeneous Sound Ideal in African-American Music, 1992

The Birth of Funk Music

Although the terms “funk” and “funky” were used to describe the “hard bop” jazz of the 1950s, it can be safely said that Funk as we know it was created by James Brown. Already a popular soul singer by the early 60s, Brown, who was also a self taught drummer, began to hear all the instruments in the band as if they were different parts of a drum kit. He experimented with his new rhythmic concept, releasing classic recordings such as, “Out of Sight” (1964), “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” (1965) and his quintessential “I Got You (I Feel Good)” (1966). The songs were big hits for Brown, yet they were still more derivative of a twelve bar blues pattern than anything that could be called an original sound.

Finally, during a live performance, Brown gets inspiration for a bass line. This line was not structured around a blues progression, but centered on only one chord. Brown’s horn player, Pee Wee Ellis, helped to flesh out the arrangement, and drummer, Clyde Stubblefield, played a syncopated rhythmic pattern that emphasized the down beat of the measure. The resulting song was 1967’s “Cold Sweat”, and a new sound called Funk was born.

The Early Evolution of Funk (1968-1973)

Soon after the release of James Brown’s “Cold Sweat”, bands like The Isley Brothers, Dyke and the Blazers, and Charles Wright and Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, began releasing songs derivative of Brown’s style. However, by 1968, Sylvester Stewart innovated a new sound that would become known as psychedelic funk. Stewart, better known as ‘Sly Stone’, combined funk with gospel, and psychedelic rock, heavily influenced by The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, to create a youthful departure from the jazz and R&B traditions that inspired James Brown. Some may argue that Sly’s early efforts were more soul than funk. However, it remains true that while Brown’s rhythmic concepts were foundational to funk, it was Sly & The Family Stone’s contemporary approach that was most influential in spawning new, innovative variations of funk in the decades to come.

Important Bands and Albums

The following is a list of bands and albums essential to the evolution of funk. This is not a top ten best funk albums list, but is concerned with works that represent the influencers that helped to advance the genre. 1. Sly & The Family Stone – Stand! (1968) Why it’s important: Music historian Joel Selvin wrote, “there are two types of Black music: Black music before Sly Stone, and Black music after Sly Stone”. I can’t put it any better than that! While “Stand!” is arguably more soul than funk, Sly & the Family Stone’s mix of funk rhythms with gospel, blues and psychedelic rock paved the way for the sound of Black music in the 70s, and decades later influenced artists such as Prince, Rick James, D’Angelo and Outkast to name a few. 2.The Meters – The Meters (1969) Why it’s Important: In stark contrast to James Brown’s horn heavy arrangements or Sly Stone’s psychedelic affect, this four piece rhythm section stripped funk down to it’s bare bones. Driven by the FUNKY “second line” drumming of “Ziggy” Modeliste, The Meters approached their songs almost like a jazz quartet. Either Art Neville’s organ or Leo Nocentelli’s guitar played the “head” of the tune, followed by the band breaking into improvised grooves. With instrumentals such as ‘Cissy Strut’, ‘Live Wire’ and ‘Here Comes the Meter Man’, The Meters became the first funk/soul jam band. 3. James Brown – Sex Machine (1970) Why it’s important: The history and future of funk contained on a single album. The B-side – the final concert of the “James Brown Band”, the band that helped create funk and its earliest recordings. The A-Side – the first concert of the legendary “JBs”, featuring Bootsy and Catfish Collins. The JBs rewrote the book on how to groove, and established the prototype for EVERY funk band that came after. Bootsy would be instrumental in teaching George Clinton the secret of “The One” and shaping Parliament/Funkadelic into one of the most influential bands in history. 4. Mandrill – Mandrill (1971) Why it’s Important: Drawing from jazz fusion, Afro-Cuban and funk rock influences, Mandrill is one of the first progressive funk bands to have mainstream success.Their biggest contributions to funk were their MONSTER horn arrangements, and their compositions, which featured a mixture of musical styles, tempo changes and instrumentation, such as African percussion, as well as flute and vibraphone, which were more common in jazz than funk of the era. 5. War – All Day Music (1972) Why it’s Important: Like Mandrill, War fused elements of rock, jazz, calypso and reggae into a genre bending interpretation of funk.However, where Mandrill’s hardcore funk often defied commercial success, War’s equally progressive and politically tinged, yet somehow happier message connected with mainstream audiences. War’s ability to achieve chart topping success with music distinctly expressing the Black Experience was instrumental in paving the way for funk to crossover, yet maintain its cultural authenticity. Ohio Players – Skin Tight (1974) By their fifth studio album, The Ohio Players evolved their raw, 60s soul sound into a blend of syncopated rhythms, sophisticated jazz arrangements, and psychedelic synths that became the archetype for classic big bands of the 70s era. The ‘Players’ inspired bands such as Zapp & Roger, Lakeside, Slave, and Faze-O, all from their home base of f Dayton, Ohio, which became known as ‘The Land of Funk”. Kool & the Gang, Cameo and The Bar-Kays are other examples of bands that borrowed heavily from the Ohio Players. 5. Parliament – Chocolate City Why it’s Important: Yes P-Funk fans, “The Mothership Connection” is definitely Parliament’s definitive album! But the musical elements that define P-Funk’s brand of funkiness first come together on Chocolate City. The mutron laced bass grooves, background vocals – part opera ensemble, part gospel choir, space-age synths and the first hints of Afrofururism are all present. From this point forward, funk goes to outer-space, and never comes back down to earth. Earth, Wind & Fire – That’s the Way of the World Barry White – Yes, Disco is Funk! At least the way Barry White did it. The genre, which evolved from the Philaelphia Sound, was a modified “fatback” groove overlaid with the lush orchestrations associated with Philly’s doo-wop soul ballads. Manu Dbango – Soul Makosa history he past and present In my opinion, the definitive James Brown album. The B-side is the “James Brown Band” the band that helped create the iconic “Cold Sweat” that helped to Sly and Brown are equally important in innovating the elements of funk that were foundational in influencing 70s funk as a whole, and contemporary genres including hip-hop and neo-soul.

Sly & The Family Stone would not only differentiate their sound from Brown’s, but would create a new style, psychedelic funk, that would soon displace James Brown as the The first band to break out the

Sub-Genres

Contemporary Funk Bands/Artists

Funk Sub-Genres
Funk Around the World
Funk Music Today

ncluding jazz, rock, soul and even country music. It has given birth to disco, boogie-funk, house music, Detroit techno, and hip hop. It has traveled to every continent, inspiring Nigerian afro-beat, Brit funk and northern soul in the UK, and Molam funk in Indonesia. In fact, funk is the foundation for contemporary dance music.

Recent Episodes

About the The Funk Excursion with Badd Kitti Podcast

“The Funk Excursion with Badd Kitti” takes listeners on a musical journey through the history and culture of funk, with thoughtfully curated topics designed to be educational as well as entertaining. In addition to a mean mix of rare grooves and b-sides, the program provides background and insights that contextualize funk as not just music of a bygone area, but an ever evolving contemporary art form.
Episodes are uploaded every 1st and 3rd Friday.

About the Producer/Host

Badd Kitti, (a.k.a. Brieze Thompson) is a multi-talented keyboardist, vocalist, composer, band leader, and educator, working in the Philadelphia area. Her role as a pioneer of the city’s mid-2000’s funk revival earned her the title , ‘Philadelphia’s Queen of Funk‘.
Badd Kitti’s lifelong love of funk music, coupled with her experience as a professional musician, combine to offer a unique and insightful perspective on the program’s topic.