Take a syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, spanning from African, soul, and early jazz roots, to its rise into the public consciousness.
Independent Lens “WE WANT THE FUNK!” airs Thursday, June 5 at 8 p.m. and streaming live and on the PBS App & WXXI app (iOS & Android) The program is also available on the PBS App and https://video.wxxi.org
Featuring James Brown’s dynamism, the extraterrestrial funk of George Clinton’s Parliament Funkadelic, transformed girl group Labelle, and Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat. The story also traces funk’s influences on both new wave and hip-hop.