As I watched the Straight Outta Compton movie, I couldn’t help but notice the amount Funk music filling the sound track. Rather than a mix of early 90’s hip-hop music, there was an abundance of P-Funk vibes popular in Southern California at the time. Part of what defined NWA as a group was the sound of their music from the very beginning. Dr Dre provided what became known as his signature style of music on songs like:
We Want Eazy (1988) by Eazy-E feat. Dr. Dre and MC Ren
Sampled:
Ahh…The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! by Bootsy Collins (1977)
Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms) by Detroit Emeralds (1972)
It’s My Turn by Dezo Daz feat. DJ Slip (1987)
Let Me Ride (1992) Dr. Dre
Sampled:
Funky Drummer by James Brown (1970)
Mothership Connection (Star Child) by Parliament (1975)
Kissing My Love by Bill Withers (1972)
Bitches Ain’t Shit (1992)by Dr. Dre, Jewell, The Lady of Rage and Kurupt feat. Daz Dillinger and Snoop Dogg
Sampled;
Adolescent Funk by Funkadelic (1976)
Let’s Get Small by Trouble Funk (1982)
Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’) (1992) by Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg
Sampled;
(Not Just) Knee Deep by Funkadelic (1979)
Atomic Dog by George Clinton (1982)
Who Am I (What’s My Name)? (1993) by Snoop Dogg feat. Jewell and Dr. Dre
Sampled;
Pack of Lies by The Counts (1971)
Atomic Dog by George Clinton (1982)
Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker) by Parliament (1976)
In 1988 Eazy-E dropped a debut single produced by Dr. Dre that would come to define a sound known as G-Funk. As opposed to P-Funk , which stands for Parliament-Funkadelic, a group pioneered by George Clinton and Bootsy Collins, G-Funk used a sound that heavily sampled music of the P-Funk era especially Parliament-Funkadelic.
Parliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums and memorable live performances. They influenced numerous post-disco and post-punk music groups of the 1980s and 1990s. The collective’s origins date back to the doo-wop group the Parliaments, formed in the late 1950s in Plainfield, New Jersey. Under Clinton’s direction, by the early 1970s the groups Parliament and Funkadelic were operating concurrently and consisted of the same stable of musicians playing different types of funk music for two different labels. The name “Parliament-Funkadelic” became the catch-all term for the multiple bands in Clinton’s stable – (Wikipedia)
Kurt Nice
Kurt Nice aka Kurtiss Jackson is a behind the scenes pioneer in the Hip Hop Kulture, creating the first nationally distributed video mix tape series, Shades of Hip Hop, in the late 1990s. Since touring the country with the Stop the Violence Movement and the Temple of Hip Hop as KRS-ONE’s National Marketing Director, Kurt Nice has been a constant commentator on conscious Hip Hop and its relevance to the new rap music of today, through radio and cable appearances. contact Kurt at info@hiphoplives.net
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Kurt Nice aka Kurtiss Jackson is a behind the scenes pioneer in the Hip Hop Kulture, creating the first nationally distributed video mix tape series, Shades of Hip Hop, in the late 1990s. Since touring the country with the Stop the Violence Movement and the Temple of Hip Hop as KRS-ONE's National Marketing Director, Kurt Nice has been a constant commentator on conscious Hip Hop and its relevance to the new rap music of today, through radio and cable appearances. contact Kurt at info@hiphoplives.net
