George Clinton

George Clinton's musical career began almost 40 years ago when he literally stepped out of the barbershop with his doo-wop outfit, The Parliaments, and scored big with the 1967 hit "I Wanna Testify." Not bad for a teen from Jersey. However, not until the P-Funk mothership rocketed from his brain...

By Abel Folgar

December 15, 2005

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George Clinton's musical career began almost 40 years ago when he literally stepped out of the barbershop with his doo-wop outfit, The Parliaments, and scored big with the 1967 hit "I Wanna Testify." Not bad for a teen from Jersey. However, not until the P-Funk mothership rocketed from his brain in the early Seventies did Mr. Clinton step into his role as an Afro-futurist visionary. With a band of pirate musicians trading off as Parliament (complex, orchestrated jams full of soul) and Funkadelic (excessive, psychedelic primal funk full of sex), Clinton redefined all notions of funk and psychedelia. Surrounded by extremely capable musicians (Bootsy Collins, baby!), Clinton and the P-Funk camp emerged largely unscathed from that decade — barring maybe a few snapped synapses and scattered venereal diseases — and continued to religiously tour throughout subsequent decades. But perhaps Clinton's greatest contribution can be felt in the hip-hop world, where everyone from Outkast to Dr. Dre has recycled his material and style, ensuring that America remains one nation under a groove. The new double-disc How Late Do U Have 2BB4UR Absent?, Clinton's first offering in ten years with the P-Funk All-Stars, will perpetuate Clinton's reign as the most unique living legend on the American musical landscape.

Abel Folgar is a contributing writer for the Miami New Times. His collections of poetry, Renault 30 and Odas a futbolistas, are available on Hinchas Press. His translations of Comanche, P.I. and Juego de chicos were published by Jitney Books and are available at local bookstores. He is a long-suffering West Bromwich Albion fan.

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