George Clinton: The Godfather of funk AND hip-hop

Voodoo 2009

[Comment Below]

By Jason Andreasen

There has been no more influential force on urban music in the last forty years than George Clinton. He may not always get his due, but without him, there is no OutKast, there is no Dr. Dre, there is no Snoop Dogg - at least not as we know them. As much as everyone knows (and loves) George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic for their irreverent sound and surrealist stage shows, the strangest thing about the band might just be its birth.

Clinton's career in music began with his founding of The Parliaments, a barbershop doo-wop group, which actually had a hit with 1967's "I Wanna Testify."

"We started in grade school, probably 1955-56. Everybody in Jersey was in a vocal group," explained Clinton in an interview with Tiger Weekly.

Before Clinton and the Parliaments started racing up the R&B charts (eventually peaking at #3), Clinton was writing songs for Hitsville, U.S.A.; otherwise known as Motown, including "Can't Shake it Loose" for The Supremes.

But how does a former Motown songwriter with a doo-wop hit under his belt make the transition into psychedelic funk? More importantly, why?

"By the time we came out with 'Testify,' the industry was changing again. White boys was comin' over from England playin' the music that my mother used to listen to - blues and rock and roll. And that's the only thing that could stop Motown," explained Clinton.

"You got the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and all that, so we had to make sure we wasn't late, so we changed to psychedelic in about '68. Right around the time Jimi Hendrix, Cream and Sly [and the Family Stone] came up, we came up at the same time with Funkadelic."

George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic would go on to dominate and define the urban sound of the Seventies with such iconic and classic albums as 1971's Maggot Brain and 1976's Mothership Connection.

"That whole album, Mothership, was like, black DJs from outer space on the radio - that was our whole concept," he explained.

These albums, along with the bevy of others released under the Parliament and Funkadelic banners, coursed through the air which many of hip-hop's pioneers would breathe in during their youth. Furthermore, rock acts such as The Red Hot Chili Peppers also found themselves greatly influenced by the music Clinton and his cohorts were producing in the Seventies and early Eighties (Clinton produced RHCP's second album).

"We were so close to hip-hop, a lot of people don't know the connection," said Clinton.

He continued, "We were there right from the get-go. We didn't know it was something you could make a record out of," said Clinton before recalling a story of a roadie rapping over Parliament's "Flashlight" with a boom box perched on his shoulder. "We used to do that between set changes!"

"Hip hop is some of the best race-based music that ever came along. They don't even know what we talking about, and they don't need to know," said Clinton of hip hop's detractors.

George Clinton has been a huge part of hip hop's growth from the inside out and hip hop has honored him by sampling many of his tracks. Everyone from Public Enemy to 2Pac has paid homage to Clinton, which inspired some Duke University students to compile a list of all the samples of Clinton's music. The list, in 1996, was 15 pages long.

"We're lucky enough to still be growing, so we've made these records that didn't sell but now they're classics. Like [1970's] Free Your Mind... it wouldn't sell ten copies when we first put it out. But for punk rockers, Free Your Mind is their Bible. I had to go back and learn it from the Chili Peppers."

But George Clinton, at 68 years old, is not slowing down or afraid of change.

"Whenever I hear someone say 'That ain't music,' I stick to that music."

Last year saw the release of George Clinton and his Gangsters of Love, an album of covers with guests including rappers (The RZA) and rockers (System of a Down), Guitar Gods (Carlos Santana) and gospel singers (Kim Burrell). Clinton also hinted at a future project with Parliament/Funkadelic.

To catch George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic's set at Voodoo, be sure to be in front of the Soco/WWOZ stage at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, October 31.

Originally Published: Issue 821 - October 28, 2009

Share on Facebook

Back to the top