Yo, George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You?
For those who don’t know, haven’t heard, or simply need to be reminded, George Clinton is the original architect of Funk. Make no mistake…pure unadulterated funk is without a doubt, still habit forming. You have to have it. George Clinton has been keeping the funk alive for over fifty years now, taking it through many transformations, reincarnations, and brand new innovations. The architect just keeps on building on the foundation he laid decades ago, trying to see how high he can go.
“Quiet on the Set Magazine” had the honor of talking to George while on his latest world tour. He gave a killer three hour show at the Howard Theater that would have the average twenty year old exhausted, not to mention a man of his age. Yes, he is still going strong at 74 years old, and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. When asked the eternal question that everyone wants to know, “George, what exactly is the funk?” He replied, “Funk is anything it needs to be to save your life. Do the best you can, and then funk it.”
George “Dr. Funkenstein” Clinton took us back to the beginning, when he was a kid in a Doo-Wop group called the “Parliaments”. “First, let me say being at the Howard Theater is like coming home for me. This is where we started in the ‘60’s. There was the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia, the Royal Theater in Baltimore, and the Howard Theater in D.C. Although we’re playing for three generations down the line now, it still feels the same.”
If you really want to take it back to the beginning, it all started with “(I Wanna) Testify”. That record was the breakthrough hit for the “Parliaments” in 1967. Clinton, who was living in Newark at the time, formed and primed the group out of his Plainfield barbershop on Third and Plainfield Avenue.
The music eventually transformed from doo-wop to soul, the name changed from the “Parliaments” to “Parliament”, then “Funkadelic”, and P-Funk was born. Out of Parliament Funkadelic, a number of other musicians and groups were spawned, including Parlay, the Brides of Funkenstein, and many others. The rest is history, and his sound emerged into a sublime melange of funk, R&B, rock, gospel, classical, and jazz, all set off by outlandish stage costumes, colorful hairstyles, and serious stage props like the infamous “Mothership”.
There wasn’t anything like it before and there hasn’t been anything like it since. It was both music and message, process and protest, education and entertainment all rolled up in a nice tight package for the listener. However, don’t sleep, because it was also a pointed commentary on the issues of the times. You could take it either way, but there was always food for thought. George was on a mission to mess with your mind…and that’s all part of his genius.
Clinton, after all these years is finally seeing some of the fruits of his labor…and in more ways than one. P-Funk shows have become a family affair more than ever these days. “I got about six or seven grandkids in the group, and they’re all really talented. You’ll be hearing more from them really soon. My granddaughters formed a group and are working on some stuff now. They’re on tour with me too, said Clinton. “I have fun doing it and I have fun making music and that’s why I’m still doing it.” If that’s not enough, he revealed that “The Mothership Connection” will be unveiled in 2016 at the Smithsonian Library. It will be displayed there, alongside the fighter planes of the Tuskegee Airmen. I don’t think even George could’ve seen that coming! “I’m very proud.” he said. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, alongside 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
It hasn’t all been a smooth ride on that “Mothership”, however. He’s made no secret of the legal battle he is going through for the rights to much of his music and publishing. Clinton told the tale in his autobiography, “Brothas Be Like, Yo George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard on You?: A Memoir,” which was released, along with the companion album, “First You Got 2 Shake the Gate,” in 2014.
“They banned the book because I talk so much about the (record) industry. They’re really trying to stop me from talking so much because of all the sampling and the crime that’s going on with the copyrights,” Clinton said. “You can get it online but they won’t sell it in the stores. It’s going to be a big controversy … I’m getting calls from the FBI, Congressional people, it’s going to take a minute because it’s not going away because we’re not going away.”
“Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard on You?” partly details Clinton’s battle against Bridgeport Music, the owner of Clinton’s work between 1976 and 1983. He says, “There are those who were opposed to the book because they didn’t want certain truths to be known. My mission right now is the issue of copyrights in music. That’s what a large part of my book is about. We’re fighting that with Flashlight2013.com and it’s getting a lot of people involved and we have a “tweeting army” that’s sending out information. (Copyright infringers) lobby and they buy lawyers, and it’s hard to get anything done until you get the public involved. Once the public is involved you can see progress happening.”
Clinton is hopeful on making progress on the use of P-Funk music sampled in the hit N.W.A. biopic “Straight Outta Compton”. “Most of the songs that are in there are ours,” Clinton said. “N.W.A. member and producer of the film, Ice Cube is real close to me. He helped me do this new record we got out, so there’s going to be a lot of mess with the movie because I’m not standing by and not staying quiet this time. If you saw that movie, you saw how much of my music was in it. There’s a scene where Dre is laying in a room with a stack of albums by his head. Five of those seven albums were ours.”
On the current “Black Lives Matter” movement, Clinton definitely has his opinions. “We’ve been saying “Black Lives Matter” for years now. That’s what “NWA” was saying in the ‘90’s, and what we were saying with “America Eats Its’ Young”. It’s not new, but I’m glad these young guys like Kendrick Lamar are speaking out about it now. It needs to be said, and Hip Hop music is probably one of the best vehicles for that.”
Hip-hop stars Ice Cube and Kendrick Lamar will appear on a new version of the 2014 Funkadelic single, “Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard on You,” remixed by Louie Vega. “I have a new video coming out for that song. Ice Cube wrote the script for it, and directed it. It has the same title as the book about my life story.
The master of funk gladly sums it all up this way:
“Funk is gonna always survive. It’s about doing the best you can, and if you do the best that you can do, you just leave it alone and let the funk take over. It usually leads you to where you need to go. Right now, I’m having pretty good luck working with Louie Vega, Kendrick Lamar, and now, Ice Cube. Watch out for the video “Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You,” which will be out in a couple of weeks. The new version of the record with Kendrick and Ice Cube will be out soon too. So, just do the best you can and funk leads you to where you’re supposed to go. And I think I’m in the right place right now between the new hip-hop, the old hip-hop, and the electronic dance music. Still doing the funk the way I’d like to.”
See the full interview in the “Quiet on the Set Magazine” film/video café.
Written by Darryl Rembert
Interview by Tamoya Daum
