Though New Orleans’ jazz legacy is a well-documented and widely recognized phenomenon, local funk pioneers, for one reason or another, are not acknowledged nearly as much as their musical predecessors in popular media. However, it seems the trail to such discovery begins tonight (February 4) when two New Orleans artists are featured in a new documentary film premiering on VH1. The Soul Rebels and DJ Soul Sister are set to appear in New York City filmmaker Nelson George‘s new picture, Finding the Funk, which airs at 10 p.m. EST / 9 p.m. CST.
Two New Orleans artists appear in "Finding the Funk" - debuts on VH1 on February 4.
The Soul Rebels and DJ Soul Sister will be among some of the funk music genre’s leading icons covered in the film, such as George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Sly Stone, Marcus Miller, Maceo Parker and more. George — whose film credits include Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It, the Chris Rock Show, Everyday People and last year’s Brooklyn Boheme documentary — states that his inspiration to produce a cinematic exploration of funk’s roots came from an idea sparked by seminal dance music remixer and subsequent pop music producer Arthur Baker (Tommy Boy Records, Afrika Bambaataa, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, New Order, Hall & Oates, Al Green, Bob Dylan).
The Soul Rebels Brass Band, having recently dropped the “brass band” moniker given their foray into hip-hop and funky soul over the past few years, is known for its popular funk, soul, R&B and hip-hop covers. In fact, their latest release is a mixtape composed entirely of brass versions of classic hip-hop tracks entitled, Power = Power, vividly illustrating the intimate connection between hip-hop production and its brass roots within funk and soul. Meanwhile, DJ Soul Sister celebrates her 20th year on the air as a WWOZ FM radio show host this year, specializing in funk and soul from the 1970s and early 1980s on her Saturday evening “Soul Power” show. 2014 will also mark the “queen of rare groove”‘s 10th anniversary of her Saturday night “Hustle” events in New Orleans that feature all-vinyl DJ sets of classic or rare soul, funk and R&B.
As Finding the Funk‘s director and producer, Nelson George traveled throughout the United States conducting interviews with key artists known for both pioneering the genre, as well as contemporary artists dedicated to carrying the torch for the future of funk’s integrity. On his funk excavation trip to New Orleans this round, he followed the Soul Rebels and Soul Sister on their paths to discovering funk. Though funk is not a stand-alone category recognized by some of the most commercial institutions today, such as the Grammy Academy, its influences on pop and contemporary dance music are undeniable. George has expressed in various interviews about the film that he does not profess Finding the Funk to be the end-all, be-all of funk’s history, but rather an introductory “road trip in search of the past, present and future of Funk music.”
“Starting with Funk’s roots in Jazz and the James Brown bands of the ’60s,” he says, “we travel to the Bay Area to celebrate Sly & the Family Stone, then to Dayton the birthplace of so many of Funk’s originators, then onto Detroit where from the ashes of Motown, P-Funk’s Mothership arose, and then to LA where a new crop of musicians are creating their own Funk history. On our journey into Funk, we talk to legends Sly Stone, Bootsy Collins, George Clinton, Nona Hendryx, Maceo Parker, Bernie Worrell, and Steve Arrington and their descendants Mike D, D’Angelo, Sheila E, Shock G and Sade’s Stuart Matthewman.”
Narrated by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of the Roots, the Finding the Funk documentary premieres on Tuesday, February 4 at 10 p.m. EST (9 p.m. CST) on the VH1 cable TV station. Re-airing dates are to be announced. For more information, visit the Finding the Funk Kickstarter page or Facebook page.
Missed last week’s airings of Finding the Funk on Vh1? Watch it in its entirety on www.vh1.com online here.
