Funk is a type of popular music combining elements of jazz, blues, and soul and characterized by syncopated rhythm and a heavy, repetitive bass line. The term was originally used in the 1950s to described a form of modern jazz concentrating on swing and soul – the latter synonymous with authenticity and sincerity. Funk was also used in a more negative sense to refer to music considered low-down, earthy, or crude. Subsequently, funk was applied to the anarchic and polyrhythmic late 1960s and 1970s derivatives of soul. Major performers have included James Brown. George Clinton (Parliament-Funkadelic), Kool & the Gang, and Earth, Wind, and Fire.

 

Funk was an element in subsequent black-oriented genres, such as hip-hop and techno-funk, and the eclectic work of artists like Prince and Living Colour. It has also made a major contribution to disco, rap, and hip-hop. In fact, funk encompasses such a variety of associated musical styles that it can be considered a meta-genre.

 

Musically, funk tends to have little melodic variation, and rhythm is everything ("the groove"). The funk style requires a particular rhythmic ensemble – percussion and bass line – and either sustained chords or rhythmic interpolations by other instruments.