Yesterday Luke from 38th Notes shot over an article called “George Clinton and the Demise of Funk,” which debates that Clinton is a “pretender” of funk, and that none of his work has an influential basis beyond the fact that he bit off other musicians like Davis, Hendrix, and Brown. Um, okay. One of his stances is that Parliament-Funkadelic came in during a crucial political crux (the late 60′s a la the tail end of the Civil Rights era) and merely seized the opportunity to cash out on making empty dance music. “Coon-toons,” he calls the animations and costumes that Clinton used to ornament his visual world.
Okay, let’s get one thing straight. I love me some Nicki Minaj. So does Nico. Dahlak likes to debate, but in the end I know he feels her too. Is George Clinton my idol? Yes. Does my body react uncontrollably to Fela Kuti? Yes Do I hold all emcees to the standards of André 3000? Yes. Do I think Janelle Monáe is the future? Si. Does being a huge fan of Nicki Minaj contradict all that? Absolutely not.
There was a point in high school where I allowed myself to equate all things pop to bad. You can’t blame me, that was the period when Wobble Wobble was hot. These days, I’m less mad at the so-called “mainstream” than I am with those who are fundamentally against things that are pop just because they’re popular. That’s not called criticism, that’s called cynicism. Nicki is a beast on the mic. Her cadences are CRAZY!! She implements theatrics into her delivery, and her music is fun to listen to. When her mixtape dropped last year, it was the most listenable one out of all the other “freshman” ones that dropped that year. Any criticisms of the hypersexualization of her image is based on gendered double standards. Compare her raunchiest rhymes to how today’s top male emcees describe their “stroke” and you realize the only reason some people mind find offense is because of how much weight and speculation is put on the voice of the only female emcee the world is paying attention to today.
Find me a verse where ANY rapper today seamlessly switches up their flow this many times. I’m just sayin.
Trey Songz ft. Nicki Minaj “Bottoms Up”
PS: I know we’re all dudes these days, so if you must, take it from a lady.
I know we focus a lot on the P-side of funk, and in many ways George Clinton has been our biggest influence as artists. But certainly the other components of the funky trinity deserve due praise. A few weeks ago I hit you with some James. And now here’s Sly & the Family Stone, the band that introduce me to funk in the first place. Their vocal arrangements are incomparable, and the style is slowly seeping into the studio as we piece together iB4the1.2. Here’s one of my favorite songs ever:
Quite speechless…we’ve let another member of P-Funk into the cosmos. Phelps “Catfish” Collins was one of funk’s most influential rhythm guitarists, starting off alongside his brother Bootsy, they first gained notoriety together playing behind James Brown as the J.B.’s. When they left shortly after, they joined Parliament-Funkadelic and introduced George Clinton to The One. What else can I say? Without Phelps, there’d be no funk. Sadly, this comes just a month after the loss of P-Funk vocalist and guitarist Garry Shider. Our hearts go out to the Collins family, resound in peace Catfish.
I miss the Arsenio Hall Show. Even though I was pretty young when it was around and I wasn’t watching it every night, the void it left once it was canceled was gaping. The show caught a sweet spot in our history – when the growing popularity of hip-hop allowed for a nationally-televised program, and the not-yet-ADD-ness of the 90′s allowed for the show to feature full-length interviews and performances. As you know, lately I’ve upped the ante on my already upped kick with P-Funk. I love this interview with George Clinton. Beyond his spacey and abstract persona, he’s personable, knowledgeable, and quite politically aggressive. Watching this segment from ’93, it’s inspiring to see how advanced Clinton’s perspectives on issues of race and sexuality were years ahead of mainstream perspective. And of course, amidst it all, he keeps it oh so funkay. More after the jump.
It’s spooky how much P-Funk was blasting in our house the days leading up to Starchild’s passing. The sound that he helped develop has been playing such a huge role in our music for iB4the1.2, from Dahlak’s productions to our vocal arrangements. Although the funk blogs have been buzzing around the news, hip-hop’s remained silent for the most part. Certainly, Garry Shider wasn’t a household name – but his work shifted our culture.
One of the reasons we’re so inspired by P-Funk is because they’ve remained true to their narrative. As iLL-Literacy meanders from spoken word to hip-hop to funk, the key constant element is storytelling – to speak on real shit while daring to imagine. Starchild is a central character to the P-Funk universe. He defended humankind from Sir Nose D’Voidoffunk! If George Clinton is Goku, then Starchild was Vegeta. And I am obviously a nerd.
The above video is “Placebo Like a Mug,” the animated featurette that played in the beginning for Parliament Funkadelic’s early live shows. Acclimate yourself to the story and the music. It’s a beautiful thing. Long live Starchild.
There are few in this world who are bold enough to don a diaper onstage – even in his fifties. This week we lost a legend. Garry Shider, known to those in the P-Funk universe as Starchild, was pretty much singing lead when I caught Parliament Funkadelic in DC a couple of years ago. At times when I questioned the outlandishness of my stage costumes, I’d think to myself, well drizzle, this still isn’t a diaper. But beyond his wardrobe, his voice and musicianship has been hugely influential across the funk/rock/soul/hip-hop spectrum. As a guitarist of the greatest band on earth for over three decades, Garry was the culprit of such vital songs as “One Nation Under A Groove.” Here’s an interview with him where he explains how to eat funk, and why his dress code is what it is.
And here’s some amazingness from him during the golden years:
Yoooooo we just finished an increeeedible show last night at Columbia College, despite Nico getting food poisoning and having to sit out in the hotel Even still, his spirit was with us, as well as chunks of food on Dari’s Marc Jacobs hoodie. And speaking of hoods, this Saturday Morning I bring you the wonderful short-lived claymation extravaganza known as The PJ’s, which came on to our welcome surprise at the telly in Ohio. With Eddie Murphy doing voiceovers, George Clinton on the theme song, and co-production by Ron Howard (culprit of my favorite show ever, Arrested Development), there’s nothing to not love.
There are so many reasons why I like this video, but can we establish the fact that the footage of the 6-year-old girl looking like she’s trying to move a refrigerator with her hips at 3:18 is not one of them?? But everything else…the trippy kaleidoscope George Clinton, Big Boi being Big Boi, and Too $hort is GRAYING!! And still his shortness leaves him dissatisfied. But this video wont. Steady waiting for that Sir Luscious Leftfoot.
When I was in middle school, I heard much about the Freaknik – Atlanta’s periodic outdoor street parties complete with music, art, and people dancing on cars butt-or-nearly-butt naked. I was intrigued, but being at the height of my germiphobia during this point in my life, was terrified by the idea of walking around and accidentally bumping into a face full of chest hair. By the time I made my first visit to Atlanta, the Freaknik was long gone, but now The Boondocks producer Carl Jones and T-Pain have linked up to present Freaknik: The Musical!!! And sure, a cartoon on Adult Swim isn’t nearly as appealing as a party filled with scantily-clad college students, but the all-star lineup of some of my favorite musicians including Lil Wayne, Big Boi, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Cee-Lo, Snoop Dogg, and Kelis makes for something worth checking out regardless.
Freaknik: The Musical premieres on Adult Swim March 7 @ 11:30pm (ET/PT).
Even still, his spirit was with us, as well as chunks of food on Dari’s Marc Jacobs hoodie. And speaking of hoods, this Saturday Morning I bring you the wonderful short-lived claymation extravaganza known as The PJ’s, which came on to our welcome surprise at the telly in Ohio. With Eddie Murphy doing voiceovers, 
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