Funk pioneer George Clinton brought famed musical collective Parliament-Funkadelic back to New York City at Palladium Times Square on Friday for an evening of funk madness. The legendary group, who produced hits like “Give Up the Funk” and “Flashlight,” celebrated its storied place in music history with a career-spanning setlist of hits and fan favorites.
“I love every night I’m on stage with George and my boys,” Thurtdelic, a member of Parliament-Funkadelic for more than a decade, told the AmNews in an exclusive interview via Zoom on Monday. “Every night is not the same … we’re definitely going to play the hits, and we’re going to play some songs … that Parliament hasn’t played in 60 years live.”
Parliament-Funkadelic, founded and headed by leader George Clinton in 1956 at his barbershop in Plainfield, N.J., has infused funk into mainstream culture for more than six decades, injecting the genre’s philosophies (like “Everything is on the ‘1’”) and merging the style and sensibilities of artists like James Brown, Sly Stone, Jimi Hendrix, and Motown groups with Clinton’s own unique and often humorous worldview. Clinton and his revolving door lineup of top-notch musicians and collaborators, which has included bassist Bootsy Collins and late keyboardist Bernie Worrell, have always evolved with the times, and their influence cannot be understated; their repertoire spans from ’50s doo-wop ballads to modern trap, and they are one of the most sampled groups in hip-hop history.
Johnny Knollwood photos
Clinton and his group have used radical collaborative art, humor, and elaborate stage shows to address social issues concerning race and class while establishing themselves as progenitors of Afrofuturism, inspiring generations of artists like Prince, Snoop Dogg, Childish Gambino, and many more. Songwriter and vocalist Thurtdelic has performed alongside George Clinton and the funk collective — which still includes longtime members Michael “Kidd Funkadelic” Hampton on guitar and bassist Lige Curry — for more than a decade, contributing to 2014’s “First Ya Gotta Shake the Gate” and 2018’s “Medicaid Fraud Dogg,” as well as appearing with Clinton during their 2018 NPR Tiny Desk performance.
Thurtdelic’s latest album, “Psychedelic Therapy,” harkens back to the early days of P-Funk, using classic samples and new live recordings to create a sonic blend of psych-rock, rap, and — of course — funk. “I wanted to bring back that ‘Woodstock sound’ … but I wanted to have [a] new hip-hop flavor to it,” Thurtdelic explained to the AmNews. “And that’s the sound that I love from Funkadelic and Parliament — I love the ’80s stuff, but I really love early ’70s, with the heavy bass lines and the horns. That’s my funk.”
In P-Funk tradition, Thurtdelic’s latest record illustrates how tradition and innovation often go hand in hand, taking a page from Clinton’s tried and true method of experimentation that allowed the 83-year-old songwriter to maintain longevity and relevance in an industry that is quick to abandon one thing in favor of the next fad. On “Psychedelic Therapy,” Thurtdelic succeeds in invoking a sense of organic nostalgia while using today’s tools, like modern production and updated slang.
“I’m in the perfect spot where I can be free in the choices I make in my music, being a part of Parliament-Funkadelic. I’m allowed to yell and scream on records, I’m allowed to rap on records, I’m allowed to sing ballads, because it’s art,” Thurtdelic said. “And I love that I’m able to do that in the field of music that I’m in, because all of it comes from funk anyway.”
While freedom is a contested subject here in America today amid great political divide in the wake of the current administration’s threats to education, reproductive rights, and health care, the sense that we can be who we are without question permeates the air at a P-Funk performance, as the band, onstage in costumed glory, leads an audience united in anthemic chants like “We Want the Funk,” often for up to three hours a night. Thurtdelic hopes that everyone who comes will “walk away with a sense of love, first of all,” he said. “I want them to know that music is an escape for everybody, and I want it to be a good escape.”
You can stream Thurtdelic’s “Psychedelic Therapy” on Spotify. For tickets for Parliament-Funkadelic’s performance at Palladium, visit www.ticketmaster.com.
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