Funk Rock

P-Funk poobah George Clinton said "The funk is its own reward," and the people listened. Beginning in the late ‘60s, Clinton's bizarre band of African-American fusionists took the syncopated rhythms of James Brown and added heavy doses of lysergic flamboyance and not a little bit of hard rock guitar (courtesy of lifestyle casualty Eddie Hazel) to spawn a new nation under a groove. That flock became the forebears of funk rock, from War and Cymande in the 1970s to the Talking Heads and Gang of Four in the '80s. The alt-rock movement of the '90s saw raunchy party boys the Red Hot Chili Peppers looking to Clinton for guidance and production talents; L.A. homies Fishbone added ska to the mix and Primus made prog-punk funky. Those bands continue touring through the millennium as funk rock in all its forms -- rap-metal, jam bands, and arena giants like Lenny Kravitz and Prince -- continues to relish its own reward.