Con Funk Shun

Con Funk Shun is a Funk & Soul band formed the early 70′s. The group was formed by Michael Cooper (vocalist/guitar) and Louis “Tony” McCall (drummer), along with Karl Fuller (trumpet), Paul “Maceo” Harrell (saxophone/flute), Dennis Johnson, Cedric Martin, and Danny “Sweet Man” Thomas. Felton Pilate (trombone/lead vocals) was the last to join the group. They all have been playing together since their high school days in the city of Vallejo, Ca.

Tony and Michael first started of playing as backup for a band called Soul Children. They were then known as Project Soul. They were working with the songwriters from Stax Records and this kicked of their career. Although they failed to gain the popularity they were seeking, they started recording songs at a studio in Memphis, TN called Audio Dimensions. They met Ted Sturges who was at the time the owner of the studio, and later became the group’s producer. He gave them the name “Con Funk Shun” which was the name of  an instrumental track from The Nine-Liters. Working in the studio with Sturges resulted in the group’s first album, “Organized Con Funk Shun.”

As they were recording for another album, they signed to Mercury where they stayed the remaining 10 years. They composed the smash hit “Ffun” in the late 70′s which was a tribute to the influential band “Brick”. At this time Micheal Cooper took the role of lead singer. Con Funk Shun was all about making fun party atmospheric songs, and even started recording instrumental funk tracks in the 80′s.

The group’s last album with Mercury was titled was recorded without Felton Pilate, who left the group in 1986 to become a producer. Micheal Cooper then left the group in the same year and began his solo career. The group picked up Melvin Carter who joined in place of Pilate.

The group came back together in the 90′s to perform at shows, county fairs and different venues all around the world. Still to this day you catch them in the Bay Area festivals performing in front of thousands of people.

Eric E.Q. Young is the group’s bass player who has been touring with the group for the past 10 years. They consider him as one of the original member of Con Funk Shun since he has been with them so long and was connected with them since they were up and coming.

Sly Stone, born Sylvester Stewart is a Rock Funk & Soul and R&B artist. He was the lead member of Sly & The Family Stone. Sly Stone and his brother, Freddie Stone (singer/guitar), combined their bands in 1967 (Sly & the Stoners and Freddie & the Stone Souls). Sly, Freddie, Cynthia Robinson (trumpet), Gregg Errico (drums), Jerry Martini (saxophone), and Larry Graham (bass) are the original members of the original lineup. Sly and Freddie’s sister, (singer/keyboard) Rose Stone, joined within a year.

Sly as well as his band members were a major asset in Funk & Soul music. They say “James Brown may have invented funk, but Sly & the family Stone perfected it.” The 60′s and 70′s was the period where the group had its biggest impact. Their fusion of R&B, infectious melodies, and psychedelia created a new pop/soul/rock hybrid that had a long lasting relevance.

This group constantly made socially conscience lyrics in its music. The pioneering precedent of Stone’s racial, sexual, and stylistic mix, had a major influence in the 1980s on artists such as Prince and Rick James.

Sly Stone

Sly’s family moved from Denton, Texas to Vallejo, CA and this is when Sly and his brother Freddie and their sisters Rose and Vaetta formed “The Stewart Four” as children. They performed gospel music in the Church of God in Christ and recorded some tracks in 1952. They all adopted the surname Stone and joined the group Sly & The Family Stone.

At age 7, Sly was a proficient keyboard player. At 11 he mastered the guitar, bass guitar, along with drums. He played guitar in many different high school bands was even in a Doo Wop group. This Doo Wop group featured him and his friend who was Filipino, and they were the only group that didn’t have any white members. This in a sense made them popular and influenced Sly to include multi-cultural members in his band as he got famous.

Rick James

Rick James, born James Ambrose Johnson, was a Funk & Soul/R&B artist/bass player who grew up in Buffalo, New York. He first started off singing on street corners with some neighborhood friends. He fled the country at age 15 in an act to avoid the Navy. He was sought to be selected in the draft, so he fled to Toronto, Canada where he then pushed his passion for music.

At the time his stage name was Big Jimmy. He joined the group with future Buffalo Springfield members Neil Young and Bruce Palmer, and with Goldy McJohn called the Mynah Birdscalled. They were originally called Sailor Boyz. although they were signed with Motown Records, they never released a record.

James joined back with Motown Records and started recording again after playing bass in many different bands. He released his first single titled “You and I” in 1978 as well as “Mary Jane”. These tracks were both on his Debut Album “Come Get It!”. This album went gold, and can be considered his most popular album to date.

The album composed after his debut solo album was “Bustin’ Out”, which featured another smash hit “Bustin’ Out of L Seven”. This album didn’t achieve as much success as the previous one, but his next one did. James released another number one hit “Give It to Me Baby” (March 1981), featured on the million-selling Street Songs in 1981, which also featured the hit “Super Freak.”

Who is Bootsy Collins?

Bootsy Collins is a Funky bass player/artist from Cincinnati, Ohio. He first started of playing bass guitar when he was a child. He took bass strings off of a bass guitar and put them on a regular guitar because he didn’t have a bass to play. He formed a band with his brother Catfish and neighborhood friend Franky Waddy called The Pacemakers. They were noticed by James Brown one day just having a jam session until his band showed up. James liked them enough to keep them around in case he needed them, and luckily one night James flew the band out to Columbus, Georgia to play with him that same night. Bootsy, now 18 years old, was now the bass player of James Brown’s band.

He traveled all over with James Brown and even looked up to him as if he were his father. He learned how to play “on the one” style of bass, which is playing the same note consistently on the 1 count of the song’s rhythm.

After leaving the band in 1971 after almost a year, Bootsy formed a group called The House Guests. He then met George Clinton and became a part of Funkadelic due to the similar style of funk they played. His success with Funkadelic led him to lead a group of his own produced by George Clinton named Bootsy’s Rubber Band. During this time (mid 70′s) he began to song write as well as lead bass player. Bootsy is one of the first people to lead a band with bass guitar and has made an impact on many genres such as Soul, Funk, and even Hip Hop.

Who Is George Clinton?

George Clinton first started of as a member of a local Doo Wop group in the 50′s called The Parliament. They sung on the street corners, and against other Doo Wop groups. In the 1967, George released a song with The Parliament called “Testify”. The song reached #20 on the Pop Charts during a time where his hometown as well as other cities in the US were having “Race Wars” as the media called it.

In the Late 60′s, during the emergence and popularity of Mowtown Records, the group needed a new sound in order to stand out and be different. George looked toward innovative artists such as Sly Stone, and Jimi Hendrix for influence. The group changed their name from Parliament to Funkadelic. They were responsible for promoting the word “Funk” at a time where it was a word of profanity. He then later  reestablished his old group name “The Parliament” and created a whole new group full of new members and called them “Parliament”.

Some of the many hit records from George Clinton are “Give Up The Funk” and “Flashlight.” Both these songs planted a major impact on the funk music culture. The two bands Funkadelic and Parliament were so impacted with band members that George produced 3 major spin-offs, “Bootsy’s Rubber Band”, “The Brides of Funkenstien” and “Parlet”. Between all these Funk groups, George managed to release 19 albums. He allowed people to come join to group and do what they do, instead of limiting them to a certain way to play their instrument.

George’s music is still relevant today in its original form and through samples. Through the emergence of Hip Hop, artist constantly used his songs to make hits. This shows how respected and influential George is, and his legacy carries on. One of the most sampled songs from George Clinton is “Atomic Dog”. This song is sampled by Snoop Dogg, 2pac, Digital Underground, EPMD, Blackstreet, MC Hammer, and many more.

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James Joe Brown Jr. aka ”The Godfather of Soul,” “Mr. Dynamite,” “Soul Brother Number One” and “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” is by far the most influential and popular Funk/Soul artist in America. He is known as the creator of Funk music. He is also responsible for the development of many different musical genres. He was born in Barnwell, South Carolina and raised by 2 aunts and a brother in Augusta, Georgia. As a child, James sang at talent shows, and performed buck dances for a little extra change. He learned how to play the harmonica, drums, guitar, and piano. As a teen he decided to focus more on music in his teens after he met Bobby Byrd, who later became a member in his band.

James Brown joined Bobby Byrd’s Gospel/R&B group (The Avon’s) in the 1950′s which eventually changed to The Flames. They went on tours and signed to a record deal to Federal Records. The hit song “Please Please Please” became their first hit record in 1956. Inspired by Little Richard, (a popular artist at the time) James used the words of Little Richard to title this song.

For the next two years, Brown failed to make another hit until he found his distinct style and added it to his music. He started to use more complex Latin and jazz influenced rhythms in his songs which got hit noticed. He came up with the hits “I’ll Go Crazy”, and “Night Train” as well as many others. He was a mere excitement to the crowd after performing Live after the Apollo. For about five years, Brown had to put his music and records down due to record deal issues.

In these times (mid 60′s) James Brown was considered in his prime. He started a new era with his smash hits “Out of Sight” which had the sound of funk before it was called Funk. He used his gospel screams and high pitch chants as much as lyrics and this gave him his distinct sound. More hits from around this time were “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”, “I Got You (I Feel Good)”. These songs were ranked high in the record charts and they are considered as some of James Brown’s greatest hits.

Who is Roger Troutman?

Roger Troutman is a funk/soul R&B artist from Ohio, and lead singer of the band Zapp.  He made many Funk and R&B hits throughout the 1980′s. Roger made the Talk Box instrument popular and used it as a center piece of his music. Most of his music sends out happy vibes and danceable sounds. Some of his more popular songs as a solo artist include “I Wanna Be Your Man” and his cover of “I’ve Heard It Through The Grapevine.”

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Roger Troutman was known as a happy funny energetic person who always loved music. As a child, he was interested in guitar and performed with his brothers at talent shows as a group. He then later became more known locally with his group and soon became popular on a national level through his connection with his childhood friend Bootsy Collins. Bootsy introduced him and his band to George Clinton who got them signed to Warner Bros. Records and Roger soon appeared on a Funkadelic album. When Bootsy and Roger were younger they agreed the that whoever became famous first would help the other one get noticed.

Roger released 3 solo albums, “The Many Faces Of Roger”, “The Saga Continues”, and “Bridging The Gap”. Roger is responsible for bringing Shirley Murdock to the music industry. He was her writer and producer. She is the background vocalist on his song Computer Love. In the mist of his career as a leader of the group Zapp and solo artist, many different popular artist wanted him to sing in their songs. He was very popular around this time.

As the Zapp band’s popularity was fading away, Roger Troutman’s songs were being kept alive through the face of West Coast Hip Hop in the early 90′s. Artist like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, and DJ Quik all idolized Roger Troutman, and used his style of music in new ways. The success of “California Love” further pushed Roger’s impact from just Funk and R&B to a whole new genre. This song was composed by Hip Hop artists Dr. Dre and 2pac. In this song Roger Troutman’s voice is used throughout the chorus. Roger is a major influence to West coast Hip Hop, and toured all around the world through this new genre of music he was affiliated with.

Zapp is a soul/funk band form Ohio, established in the late 70′s. The band consists of  The Troutman Brothers: Roger, Larry, Terry, and Lester as well as Gregory Jackson. The band’s distinct sound was the use of an instrument called the Talk Box. This instrument at the time wasn’t used as a lead instrument, but this band embraced it. This being played over a happy upbeat dance style of Funk is the original sound of Zapp. Some of the more influential songs from this band are “More Bounce To The Ounce” and “Dance Floor.” The groups success was due to Roger and his Talk Box which gives off and creates a more happy atmosphere. Larry and Roger were the head of the group. Larry was the road manager and the leader of the group in terms of all major decisions and connections. Roger dealt with the production and lead singing.

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Zapp – I Can Make You Dance

Before the group hit the scene, they were doing talent shows as children and performing Blues, Rock, and Soul Music at dances and things of the sort. At this time, their group was called ”Lil Roger and His Fabulous Vels”. Later on after they grew older and started doing bigger things as a career and getting noticed, the group was called “Roger and The Human Body.” Terry played the bass, Larry played the congos and took care of the management of the group.  The group’s current name comes from Terry’s childhood nickname which was “Zapp”.

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Its name originated in the 1950s, when “funk” and “funky” were used increasingly as adjectives in the context of soul music. The meaning being transformed from the original one (pungent odor) to a re-defined meaning of a strong, distinctive groove.

Funk consists a blend of soul music, jazz music and R&B. What separates this genre is the strong bass-line usually played in a style called “slap bass.” The blend of this baseline, complex drum licks, choppy guitar strumming, and synchronized horns (trumpets and saxophones) composed in a rhythmic groove gives Funk it’s distinct sound.

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A few popular artists in this genre are James Brown, Bootsy Collins, Parliament, and Rick James.

In this video Bootsy Collins will break down his basic style of Funk (“on the one”) with his bass guitar. This means playing one consistent note on every one count of the tempo. After playing that specific note (“on the one”), you have freedom to play any note in any order and any way as long as you keep rhythm. Here’s the video demonstration from no other than the man himself.

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The person considered to be the one who brought along the style of “slap bass” is Larry Graham. Larry Graham is part of the group Sly and The Family Stone. Here’s a video of Larry Graham playing this style.

“I Can” is a very informational and meaningful hip hop song that was created in 2003 by Nas. “I Can” is the second single from Nas’s album, God’s Son. Nas dedicated this song to the youth, mainly young black kids.

He uses his status and creativity in the hip hop culture to send a positive message to our youth with this song. Nas was a very popular hip hop artist during the time he composed this song. He uses kids in his song as well as in the video to help attract more kids to listen to the positively influential song. This song is very meaningful and informational to kids, especially Black kids. As far as the video, there are many things used and shown that link back to African roots. This shows how important and influential Africa is in our present society.

In the beginning of the song’s music video, there is a young black girl probably in her early teens playing the piano. The song that she is playing is a sample of “Beethoven‘s – Fur Elise (1867)” to the sampled beat of “The Honeydrippers’ – Impeach the President (1972).” 

Connections to Roots 

Throughout this whole video there are many different things that come from Africa. The fact that it’s a hip hop song is the biggest thing. Hip hop’s roots come from Africa. The songs rhythm is being held by drums which also originate in Africa.

“Before we came to this country, we were kings and queens never porch monkeys.” In this quote, Nas is talking directly to the Black kids. When he uses the word “we”, he is speaking to the black people, and he including his self because he’s Black. The fact that everything he says in this verse has to do with African history is another reason why this verse is dedicated to the black youth. He educates them about how in the past, some of our African ancestors were royalty. There were many kings and queens in Africa. A few names of some African kings and queens are, “King Mansa Abu Bakari II, Yaa Asantewa – Queen Mother of Ejisu, and King Tutankhamun.” Porch monkey is a racial slur that was used toward blacks, created by white people. The meaning behind this quote is that in the past Blacks weren’t just what whites wanted them to be. African kings and queens were powerful leaders, and were very wealthy. Some black kids in today’s society believe in stereotypes and sometimes live up to them because that’s all they see. Blacks weren’t always treated as minorities, and this is a message for the young black kids to believe in themselves because there is hope, and it is possible to achieve what our early ancestors had back during their time. 

Nas educates about Timbuktu in the lyrics, and also how forms of trade changed: “Timbuktu where every race came to get books, to learn from Black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans, Asians, Arabs.” According to New Encyclopedia of Africa,“A historic city in Mali, Timbuktu is located six miles north of the Niger River, and southern edge of the Sahara. It was founded in the eleventh or twelfth century as a trading center where a trans-Saharan camel caravan route connected with the Niger River commercial network.” It was the first university system in the world. Some of the libraries established still stand today, including Sankore Madrasah. Timbuktu was very popular and influential during this time and the people who created this were Africans. This shows how important they were to the world.

“The Persian military invaded. They took the gold, the teachings, and everything sacred. Africa was almost robbed naked.” These are lyrics expressing how important Africa was to the Persians. Why would people take things from Africa if they weren’t important? Again this shows Africa’s importance and influence to other parts of the world. When Nas says “Africa was almost robbed naked,” he doesn’t mean literally. He says it to put a bigger emphasis on the issue, and not intending on being too literal. The whole point of him stating that is to express how almost everything Africa created was taken. From the cash crops, to the books of education, these things were taken from the originated destination.