Funk: On The One Or Not ?

Funk is not a genre it is a musical “essence” that has been embedded in man's DNA for thousands of years. When cavemen fought a saber-toothed tiger, they learned they could conquer the beast through "the art of improvisation." Someone would often die in the ensuing chaos so one had to improvise in order to stay alive. That improvisation laid the foundation for neural pathways in the brain, which are still present in man today. These are the neural pathways that one might use to embellish an employment history while preparing a resume or to deceive a spouse while having an extramarital affair and these neural pathways work well for someone in a life-threatening situation; when a split-second decision can result in living or dying.

When James Brown popularized his brand of funk, because he was a dancer/performer, he strove to make it easier for the audience to connect with the band, but watch his feet jitter and slide and you will realize that the “one” was for those who needed to keep time while Mr. Brown kept time with his internal timepiece.

The same can be said for funk. The “one” makes it easy for the rhythmically challenged to take part in the rhythm. Case in point: Take dance lessons and graduate with distinction and then go to the World Ballroom Dancing Championship and compare your rumba to a rumba performed by the pros. The first thing you will realize is that you cannot count the steps that they use to perform a rumba or any other well-known dances you might have been taught in dance class.

Sly Stone was and is a true Funk master in the sense that his style of voice and organ performance embodies a looseness that allows him to slide around any set rhythmic pattern or structure. This results in the listener being pulled in various directions depending on which pattern he or she places their focus.

Michael Jackson = Funk Master
Justin Timberlake = Mousketeer

Cordell ‘Boogie’ Mosson once said “ Funk isn’t on the “one”, funk is everywhere the “one” isn’t.”