Philosophically, what would you say is the funk tradition?
George Clinton: Funk is gonna always survive. It’s about doing the best you can, and if you do the best that you can do, you just leave it alone and let the funk take over. It usually leads you to where you need to go. Right now, I’m having pretty good luck working with Louie Vega, Kendrick Lamar, and now, Ice Cube. We did the single for the video “Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You,” which will be out in a couple of weeks. And the version with Kendrick and Ice Cube will be out soon. So, just do the best you can and funk leads you to where you’re supposed to go. And I think I’m in the right place right now between the new hip-hop, the old hip-hop, and the electronic dance music. Still doing the funk the way I’d like to.
(The idea of expanding one’s consciousness) That plays a role in everything making music in ‘67, 8, and 9. That became the reality even if you were playing classical. The trending chemical substance of the day was provoking all the thoughts in music. You had Frank Zappa, who was weird. But all of those mind-expansion drugs played with the territory you were allowed to think in. The Beatles covered so much ground in the stuff they sang and wrote about that, you know… that was the consciousness of the youth of that day. You learned a lot about the world.
Once your mind starts expanding, you start appreciating all types of music: Classical, jazz, classical rock.
Via Vice
