1980s and stripped-down funk

In the 1980s, many of the core elements that formed the foundation of the P-Funk formula began to be usurped by machines. Horns were replaced by synths, effectively phasing out horn sections, and the horns that remained were simplified from the patterns and hooks of the earlier funk sound. Horn solos were out. The classic keyboards of funk, like the Hammond B3 organ and the Fender Rhodes piano began to be replaced by the brash sound of new digital synthesizers like the Yamaha DX7. Drum machines began to replace the "funky drummers" of the past, and the slap and pop style of bass playing began to fall out of favor, often replaced by thinner sounding and rhythmically simpler keyboard bass. The lyrics and hooks of funk began to change from often suggestive and using double entendre to more graphic and sexually explicit. Rick James was the first funkateer of the 80s to assume the funk mantle dominated by P-Funk in the 70s. His 1981 album Street Songs with the singles "Give It To Me Baby" and "Super Freak" resulted in James becoming a bit of a rock star, and paved the way for the future direction of explicitness in funk. Prince, using a stripped-down instrumentation similar to Rick James, went on to have as much of an impact on the sound of funk as any one artist since James Brown. Prince combined eroticism, technology, an increasing musical complexity, and an outrageous image and stage show to ultimately create a musical world as ambitious and imaginative as P-Funk or The Beatles. The Time, originally conceived as an opening act for Prince and based on his "Minneapolis sound", went on to define their own style of stripped-down funk based on tight musicianship and sexual themes.

Bands that began during the 1970s P-Funk era incorporated some of the uninhibited sexuality of Prince and state-of-the-art technological developments to continue to craft funk hits. Cameo, Zapp, The Gap Band, The Bar-Kays, and The Dazz Band all found their biggest hits in the 80s, but by the latter half of the 80s, funk had lost its commercial impact.

Afrika Bambaataa influenced by Kraftwerk created "Electro Funk", a minimalist machine-driven style of funk with his single "Planet Rock" in 1982. Also known simply as Electro, this style of funk was driven by synthesizers and the electronic rhythm of the TR-808 drum machine. The single "Renegades of Funk" followed in 1983.

PurpleCharm said:

No I dont, sorry fella - I totally agree with what you've said, I was honestly only messing.

100MPH said:

A top list indeed 100MPH. Funk for days.
'Action Speaks Louder Than Words' is by Chocolate Milk - great tune & great band. Alot of there stuff was produced by Allen Toussaint

What?

The thing about picks on lists, regardless of the topic or genre, etc, it's always subjective. One man's ceiling is another cat's floor and all that shit. There's no DEFINITIVE list. There's no such thing. U could have 100 songs that mean the world to ya, that u would swear those songs could save the world and all that, and then fuck around and run into some other folks who could careless about those very songs. Are those songs less valid or definitive to u? God, I hope not. Point being, that's why I TRY to stay away from lists like "best 50 Rock or Funk or Country or Classical or Hybrid or Mutation ever" things. It's just a matter of taste. Like a great man once shouted "It's ALL our Turf!"

I gotta give it up to 100MPH. The cat is no joke. ALWAYS very informative with great visuals too.

blackguitaristz said:

"CAAAAANNNNN YOOOUUUUU DIIIIIGGGGIIIIITTTTT"



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[Edited 7/12/06 10:49am]

paligap said:

Hey!!! There Pali is! What it be like, broham?! I've got ALL kinds of new shit to send u, man! The album is 3/4 finished. How u been?

blackguitaristz said:

I'm Kool, wuzzzuppp....Glad to hear your music's comin' along, I'd like put an ear on that!




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paligap said:

Same mailing spot?

blackguitaristz said:

Ndeed!!!


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funkymf said:

blackguitaristz said:

Ride on brotha . On point .
And thanx a lot 4 your cool props .

4everFunkinOn .

TonyVanDam said:

100MPH said:

errm....prince did a song called Housequack?

Horns are cool and all but my favorite funk is from the early 1980s when things started sounding a little more modern and even futuristic at times and getting further away from more traditional influences such as jazz. I love 1970s funk but I absolutely love the more synthy type funk from the early 1980s. It was funk changing with the decade and I'm all for change....as long as it's a good change.




That's where the problem comes in for me. The things that attract me to funk in the first place are the drums and bass, which are the things that give the song strength and rhythm. I love the use of drum machines that Prince used in the early 1980s but those drum machines had a unique sound to them and pounded much harder than drum machines that followed in the hip hop era which barely tap and sound very cheap.

"Thinner sounding" is definately a good description. The electronic bass these days is very weak sounding and has absolutely no rhythm whatsover. If it's not sounding weak, then it's the extreme opposite to where it grounds out the rest of the music and sounds like a fog horn. I definately prefer real bass at practically all times.

Today's music also needs some damn handclaps. They have taken every element that makes a song an "ass shaker" out of the music including the tempo.




I'm glad someone notices that because people tell me I'm lying when I say that funk was dying out in the late 1980s. Yes, there was still funk around but nothing like before 1985. It's very true that new technology was the killer of funk but people like Prince knew how to use new technology and still be funky and hard. The death of funk had a lot of help from a certain little Miss Goodie Two Shoes influencing people to weaken and water the music down for mass pop appeal. Who, by the way, I saw last night on the BET Jazz Channel "Timeline" and she admitted "Yes I went after the pop audience...but isn't it show business". I wanted to reach through the TV and pimp slap the shit out of her.
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[Edited 7/13/06 14:59pm]

sinisterpentatonic said:

100MPH said:

Housequake is more hip-house than funk, IMO.

Some good picks but alot of great songs are missing.
Fire should definitely be in the top ten.