One of the forefathers of funk is being honored with his own star.
George “Funkenstiein” Clinton is the latest performer to receive the 2,769th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Clinton will receive his star in the category of Recording on Friday, January 19th.
Clinton is regarded, along with James Brown and Sly Stone, as one of the foremost innovators of funk music. His Parliament-Funkadelic collective developed an influential and eclectic form of funk music during the 1970s that drew on Afrofuturism, outlandish fashion, psychedelia, and surreal humor. He launched his solo career with the 1982 album Computer Games and would go on to influence 1990s hip-hop and G-funk.
His P-Funk sound and irresistible beats have influenced many artists today. Beats, loops, and samples of P-Funk have appeared on albums by 2Pac, OutKast, Dr. Dre, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, De La Soul, Ice Cube, Public Enemy, and Childish Gambino to name but a few. Clinton has collaborated with Kendrick Lamar on the influential rapper’s Grammy-winning album To Pimp a Butterfly and just appeared on Travis Scott’s latest track “HYAENA” from his critically acclaimed album UTOPIA. But his influence hasn’t been limited to music, his show theatrics and unique fashion choices have also left their mark.
Clinton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, alongside 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
Some of Clinton’s most popular songs include: “P-Funk (Wants to get Funked Up),” “Mothership Connection (Star Child),” the group’s first gold single “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker),” “Flash Light,” “One Nation Under a Groove,” “(Not Just) Knee Deep,” and “Aqua Boogie,” eventually culminating with the 1982 solo release of “Atomic Dog,” which has been featured in numerous movies including 102 Dalmatians, Trolls World Tour, Menace II Society and more. It has been sampled countless times, most notably by Snoop Dogg on his smash-hit “Snoop Dogg (What’s My Name Pt. 2).” These releases became instant dance floor anthems and sparked Funk’s biggest movement to date. The live performances were equally otherworldly, as Clinton would emerge from a giant spaceship, “The Mothership,” at center stage as “Dr. Funkenstein” to transport listeners into a different dimension.