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P-Funk & Boogie

The mothership landed and the bass never quit.

Flash Light by Parliament — cover art

Tear the roof off. George Clinton's P-Funk empire and the early-'80s boogie that grew out of it — talkbox bass, horn stabs, and grooves so deep they'd be sampled into the next two decades of hip-hop. Parliament, Zapp, Cameo, and the Gap Band running the dance floor.

On the playlist

Flash Light
Parliament
1977
Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)
Parliament
1976
One Nation Under a Groove
Funkadelic
1978
(Not Just) Knee Deep
Funkadelic
1979
More Bounce to the Ounce
Zapp
1980
Word Up!
Cameo
1986
Candy
Cameo
1986
You Dropped a Bomb on Me
The Gap Band
1982
Early in the Morning
The Gap Band
1982
Super Freak
Rick James
1981
Give It to Me Baby
Rick James
1981

Did you know

  • Zapp's 'More Bounce to the Ounce' (1980) is one of the most-sampled records in hip-hop history.
  • Parliament's Mothership — a giant spaceship stage prop — landed on stage every night of the P-Funk Earth Tour.

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