Funk

Rhythm promoted to melody: James Brown’s downbeat "One" turned the whole band into a drum.

Core Principles & Analysis

• James Brown built it in the mid-1960s by locking every instrument to interlocking rhythmic cells.
• Parliament-Funkadelic stretched it into psychedelic mythology and stadium spectacle.
• Funk breaks became hip-hop’s raw material — its DNA is all over sampled music.

Specifications & Metrics

• ERA: 1965 – present