I said it before, Prince is far more versatile then 'just' doing funk, but that doesnt mean he doesnt have had a lot of impact on the sound and style of funk-music.

Which modern day Funk artists has Prince impacted? One could argue D'Angelo, but I wouldn't label him a Funk artist either.

As i said before: his minimalistic, electronic, almost 'abstract' type of funk is his legacy. A new step, a very influential one too.

Again, which modern Funk artist has been influenced by this sound? Currently, the global Funk scene is experiencing a revival of the late 1960s Funk sound. While I give Prince credit where credit is due, I think that replacing lively drums, the essence of Funk, with stale drum computers, didn't exactly do something positive to the genre.

Which artists have had a higher (more important?) input in funk then him in the last two - three decades?

First, you need to show how Prince had impacted the Funk genre. Second, Prince was a mega-star (not because of his Funk sounds, but his Pop hits), and of course no Funk artist can top that. Funk has, for the most part, always been rooted in the underground, not the mainstream. That is especially true for today.

Cameo and Zapp? They polished and simplified the sound of P-funk. Not much development there.

True. I don't particulary like either of them.

The Time? Their records were Prince-records with Morris Day on vocals. Nothing to discuss there.

The Time was probably Prince's funkiest project to date - and the reason why he created The Time was for him to explore hs funky interests without jeopardizing his mainstream pop appeal.

Rick James? calling himself punk-funk, when his funk was more disco in the first place.

Not too fond of Rick James either.

And, so what if he didnt release an album entirely focussed on funk? George Clintons albums since Computer Games have been very tacky, and I take 2 - 3 great funk-tracks on an Prince album (how diverse it may be) anyday above another mediocre Clinton album.

I stated before that I am not a big Clinton fan.

Just tell me, who have been the funk-artists who have impressed you so much in the last 20 - 30 years? I am curious about their names.

Not the last 20 - 30 years. The 80s were a dull decade for Funk. The revival of oldschool Funk began in the mid-1990s and it is now a full blown global phenomen. New Funk artists went back to the late 1960s and early 1970s sound, which is considered to be the golden era of Funk. These new groups may not impress you much, because you made clear earlier that you want Funk to progress, not go back where it came from. I happen to disagree with you.
I did a couple of New Funk specials on my radio show in recent months, you can check out the names of the groups and actually listen to the sound.
http://wrir.org/x/modules...ryid=10143

http://wrir.org/x/modules...oryid=8587

[Edited 8/7/09 15:15pm]

So, you are no big Cameo and Zapp fan.

You dont overrate Rick James either.

And its obvious you dont give Prince credits for his work in the funk-field.

Who are your defenders of the funk-crown then for the last 2,3 decades?

When it comes to Prince using drum-machines on his funkier tracks, i disagree with you. The essence of funk doesnt lie in organic drum beats, it lies in the funkieness of the groove, wether it are real drums or electronic ones.
IMO Prince has used drummachines to a great effect: giving the funk a more bleak and raw edge.

Lets get this straight: Without JB there wouldnt be something like funk music at all! You could say, that he basically invented the whole thing all by himself. JB's albums are the basis for all the "funky" things that came later on - including Prince!

Just my 2 cents...
[Edited 8/7/09 3:42am]

I was watching 'Black To The Future' yesterday on VH1 and came to the realization - Prince was never really as funky as he's been made out to be. True funk lived and reigned in the 70s and early 80s.

Prince's funk couldn't really hold a candle to those guys (Parliament, EWF, Chic etc). And they could never do what he does.

He is not a THE most important or greatest funk-artist, but who IS?

I mean, most well known funkateers have always mixed their funk with other styles and didn't limit themselves to playing 'pure funk' only, whatever that might be.

Sly and the Family Stone did throw a lot of soul, gospel and rock into their 'mix'.

George Clinton (and Parliament and Funkadelic) used jazz-elements and 'peppered' his music with psychedelic rock.

Maybe the godfather himself, James Brown, was the one who stayed closest to the 'pure' uncut funk, but hey, he invented it... lol
But also, dont forget he started as a soul / traditional R&B singer.

About Prince, he might have went into all kind of directions stylewise during his career (from pop to rock, from folk to blues, from techno to hip-hip): during his early years in MPLS (1978 - 1984) funk was a main ingredient of his style, and he has done A LOT in reinventing the and redefining the sound of funk in the eighties.
Also after 1984 he has regularly gone back to playing funk-based music (the Camille album, the Black album, parts of the Batdance and Symbol album, several individual songs later on) and with that he created, IMO, some of the greatest funk-tracks of the last 20 - 25 years.

People here who say he can't 'reach' artists like Chic, Kool and the Gang and Earth, wind and fire, at least when it comes to FUNK, need there ears checked:
Those bands might haved use some funk-elements in their music, but they were disco and soulbands in the first place: EWF was a disco show-revue in the first place, not a funk-band.

To conclude, its hard to say who is the real 'king of funk', because, what i said, funk has often been a mix-genre, so its hard to decide who is more 'funkier'...lol
But when i look at the history and the development of funk music these are really the BIG 4 IMO:
James Brown - Sly Stone - George Clinton - Prince

Riverpoet31 said:

Co-Sign

Soulstar77A said:

That may be true, but so what? Does inventing it mean no one can do it better? Hardly.

Soulstar77A said:

That may be true, but so what? Does inventing it mean no one can do it better? Hardly.

abigail05 said:

Wow. I so disagree. Funk reigned in the 70's and 80's? I'd say the 70's . . .by '82 it was gone except for the occasional Bar-Kays . . .
What happened to Cameo, Parliment/Funkadelic, Confunshun, and other charting funk acts? The '80's with synths washed them away.
Personally I could care less what Prince is the king of . . . .
I'm just in it for the music. I don't care what anyone thinks of Prince. I listen to Prince. If it's one of those days that's all Prince . . . get over it or see ya!

No Prince is not the King of Funk.

Many of you here are clueless when it comes to funk or music history in general.


You are not familiar with Sly, JB or the Parliament/Funkadelic/Clinton Empire catalog. You know a few songs and tribble these artist have not made great lps as you know some of the hit only.

Clinton alone has released over 100 odd some lps under many names and musical styles.

Prince is a great artist but he's not the master of all music. People it's ok to be a fan but get a clue.

Everyone is a fan of the artist they grew up on but doesn't make that artist the greatest on the planet.

SUPRMAN said:

Better is always a matter of personal taste. But I'd be surprised if anyone would say that the quality of James Brown's Funk could be touched and even surpassed by anyone else. I hardly think that's the case, especially not when we are talking about Prince.

But then again, this is a Prince forum, and I shouldn't be surprised at all.

EWF was a disco show-revue in the first place, not a funk-band.

Which artists have had a higher (more important?) input in funk then him in the last two - three decades?
Cameo and Zapp? They polished and simplified the sound of P-funk. Not much development there.

Riverpoet31 said:

EW&F was much more mixed styles than merely a disco show-revue. You can hear that by checking Maurice White's development as conceptual composer through EW&F's early work from late 60's to mid-70's.

Amen! In their prime, they were such a fantastic blend of all that was right with popular music and no one sings like Philip Bailey!

Hell no! The MPLS Sound is "lite "funk at best. His best funk days are way behind him. He used to be the "prince" of funk, but NEVER king. That goes to Geoge Clinton and Parliment.

EWF was a disco show-revue in the first place, not a funk-band.

...2 me...prince will ALWAYS b my KING-OF-FUNK
..there have been others...true....but prince has the MOST power!!!
...mzsexybaby'MESSAGE UR BODY ABOUT 2 HEAR..IS NOT MEANT 4 TRANSMISSION'

So people who dig James Brown have no taste ?