P-Funk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
P-Funk is a musical genre associated with George Clinton and other members of Parliament Funkadelic, which had a heydey in the 1970s, and still continues to attract new fans thanks both to the legacy of stank samples it bequeathed to hip hop, and the live shows that the band still continues to perform.
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[edit] Origins Of The P
[edit] Etymology
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.
Not to be confused with Punk Funk, as pioneered by Rick James and the Stone City Band, although Rick James was clearly inspired by P Funk.
[edit] Key P-Funk bands and musicians
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
[edit] Disciples of the P
The P Funk sound influenced many musicians that followed, and helped to generate new sounds as well:
[edit] Dr. Dre
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.
[edit] Public Enemy
This hip hop outfit sampled many P Funk tracks to add power to their polemical 1990's rap albums, including Give Up The Funk within 1992's Get Off My Back, and Get Off Your Ass And Jam as part of Bring The Noise (1988). The very original and creative use of P Funk samples by Public Enemy not only helped shape the development of hip hop, but was itself reflected in George Clinton's work that followed, and so Public Enemy can be set apart from other P Funk sampling hip hop.
[edit] OutKast
Another key disciple is OutKast's Andre 3000, and homages to P Funk can be seen in the album ATLiens (which refers to Atlantis, as does Parliament's 1978 album Motor Booty Affair. The track Prototype on OutKast's The Love Below is reminiscent of some of Bootsy Collins' 1970s P Funk sex-ballads.
[edit] Prince
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.
[edit] Red Hot Chili Peppers
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 hard-rock sound, the influence of P-funk on their music is still quite prominent.
[edit] Other P Funk Sampling Hip Hop Artists
See the full list of Wikipedia P Funk entries by visiting the P-Funk category listings (click below).
