ABSTRACT
The funk was essentially a development of soul rather than a distinctive genre in its own right. For this reason, and owing to the strong similarities between soul and funk in areas such as social and historical background, this chapter concentrates upon the musical texts and subsequent developments at the partial expense of the other headings. For the purposes of simplicity, a cut-off line between funk-in-soul and funk existing in its own right could be drawn at around 1968, thanks to the ground-breaking work of performers to be explored later in this chapter. As with James Brown's backing tracks, P-Funk was one of the most favoured musical sources for subsequent rap producers. This exaggerated 'other-wordly' visual dimension was emphasised by P-Funk's album cover art. For P-Funk, 'the one' was less of a musical touchstone than a symbol of a totally 'planned', yet chaotically alternative, way of life. This existence enveloped different personae, and even a parallel mode of verbal expression.
