The Funk Lesson Plan
If yer old (Old like me!) this here thing called Tha Funk Capitol Of The World is a sweet and unexpected treat. Bootsy Collins, bass technician and groove specialist, worked for a stint in the laboratory of Dr. James Brown. In that short and hot period of time, Dr. James Brown, having just invented funk, mashed potatoes and the electric toaster, worked on some of his hottest experiments ever.
If yer young (How nice for you!) this here Bootsy Collins elpee can be listened to like a history lesson in funk as well as black pop culture, which may or may not have been Bootsy’s plan all along. Do you like hip-hop? Hip-hop owes it’s existence to funk, which owes it’s existence to James Brown. The best moment in this imperfect but loose and fun-to-listen-to elpee is when the Rev. Al Sharpton delivers the James Brown lesson plan in “JB – Still The Man.” Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Brown… Sharpton constructs a solid spoken-word argument that Brown’s contributions are every bit as important as the other three “B’s” and does it, of course, with some heart-stopping horn charts, a funky beat, and Bootsy’s fingerpopping basslines to illustrate the point.
Also super-noteworthy: Samuel L. Jackson telling stories of his childhood in Chattanooga and the importance of funk to the youth of his time, and Dr. Cornell West’s loving, compelling, and authoritative message to today’s young black people on the importance and power of words.
I’ve always loved Bootsy, and so I was a little worried that, with all the guests and the sheer density (SEVENTEEN TRACKS! OMG!) of the elpee, it could go badly. It doesn’t. It’s fun, it’s smart, and most of all, it’s got soul.
