THEMOVIES

“What is funk? ...When you hear it, you know what it is, and perhaps more importantly, you know it when you feel it,” Dr. Todd Boyd. In the late '60s, Black pop started easing away from the internationally mainstreamed music of Motown toward something harder, more bass-centric and more distinctly Black. The music of James Brown—“Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud”—was a combination of all of it, relying more on rhythm and beat than melody or harmony. The film traces funk's growth and its use as an act of rebellion and a vehicle for social change. It features interviews with some of the greatest living musicians such as George Clinton, Kool of Kool & The Gang, The Roots' Questlove and Talking Heads' David Byrne. Alongside these musicians, we're met with insights from genre scholars, yet Nelson and London avoid lecturing; the feel of the music remains central.