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P-Funk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the song see P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)
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P-Funk (also spelled P Funk or P. Funk) is a shorthand term for the repertoire and performers associated with George Clinton and the Parliament-Funkadelic collective and the distinctive style of funk music they performed. The P-Funk groups had their heyday in the 1970s and continue to attract new fans thanks both to the legacy of samples they bequeathed to hip hop and the live shows that the bands continue to perform.
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The etymology of the term P-Funk is subject to multiple interpretations. It has been identified alternately as an abbreviation of "Parliament-Funkadelic", "pure funk" or "Plainfield Funk", referring to Plainfield, New Jersey, the hometown of the band's original line-up. The liner notes of CD versions of the Motor Booty Affair album suggest that the "'P' stands for 'Pure.'" The breakout popularity of Parliament-Funkadelic elevated the status of P-Funk to describe what is now considered to be a genre of music in its own right. Fans of this genre of music often refer to it as "The P."
P-Funk should not be confused with punk funk as pioneered by Rick James and the Stone City Band, although James was clearly inspired by P-Funk.
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Musical elements that characterize the P-Funk style include:
- spacey synthesizer melodies and washes provided by keyboardist Bernie Worrell and others
- prominent, squelching electric bass lines provided by Bootsy Collins or performed in his style
- jazzy, insouciant horn section arrangements performed by The Horny Horns
- raucous group vocals on songs' choruses alternating with sung or spoken vocals on the verses
- a mixture of funk and rock guitar styles, the latter being more prominent on Funkadelic's recordings
- steady, relatively unobtrusive drumming with few or no drum solos
- lyrics devoted to exposition of the P-Funk mythology, sex and drug-related humor, and sociopolitical satire, often in the context of a concept album
- sophisticated use of multitrack recording technology and studio effects by producer George Clinton
Key P-Funk bands and musicians include:
- Parliament
- Funkadelic
- Bootsy Collins / Bootsy's Rubber Band
- George Clinton
- Bernie Worrell
- Eddie Hazel
- Garry Shider
- Walter Morrison
- The Brides of Funkenstein
- Maceo Parker
The P-Funk sound influenced many musicians that followed, and helped to generate new sounds as well:
The producer and rapper from Compton DJ Quik is probably the most "funkaholic" artist in the history of rap music. He paid homage to the P-Funk in his third album Safe + Sound (1995) with tracks like "Keep Tha 'P' In It".
World famous producer Dr. Dre is a great fan of P-Funk, and in the early 90s brought their music back into popular culture through the extremely heavy P-Funk samples characteristic of his G-Funk records and sound.
Public Enemy sampled many P-Funk tracks to add power to their polemical 1990s rap albums, including "Give Up The Funk" (sampled in 1992's "Get Off My Back") and "Get Off Your Ass And Jam" (sampled in 1988's "Bring The Noise"), and "Flash Light" (sampled in "911 Is A Joke"). The band's very original and creative use of P-Funk samples not only helped shape the development of hip hop, but its musical innovations were reflected in George Clinton's own later work.
Another key disciple is OutKast's Andre 3000, and homages to P-Funk can be seen in the albums ATLiens and Stankonia. George Clinton can be heard making a guest appearance on the track "Synthesizer" off Aquemini. The track "Prototype" on Andre's The Love Below is reminiscent of some of Bootsy Collins' 1970s P-Funk sex ballads.
A key disciple of the P-Funk was Prince, who helped defined the softer side of that 1980s Electro sound, and who collaborated with George Clinton on the most recent P-Funk albums.
Another key disciple of P-funk are the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They originally started off as a focused P-funk band (their second album, Freaky Styley, was produced by George Clinton himself). Though they have evolved to a more funk rock sound, the influence of P-funk in their music is still quite prominent.
- Arrested Development
- Brand Nubian
- EPMD
- Esham
- Digital Underground
- X-Clan
- People Under the Stairs (Member Double K wears a Funkadelic shirt in many live performances, George Clinton also appeared on their track "The Doctor and the Kid")
- The Minutemen (Classified as alternative rock but was very much influenced by P-funk.)
- Clear One
- Redman