A History of Fvnk Mvsic and Black Liberation of the 1970s | PBS Docvmentary (2025)

“When you get to the late sixties, early seventies, a lot of people feel like, ‘I’m not interested in assimilating. I’m interested in being as Black as I can possibly be’.”

“WE WANT THE FUNK!,” a syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, spans from gospel, soul, highlife, and early jazz roots, to its rise and impact on new wave and hip-hop, as funk music has been transcendent for creators and listeners alike. Revolutionary moments in the movement are captured in James Brown’s dynamism, the extraterrestrial funk of George Clinton’s Parliament Funkadelic, transformed girl group Labelle, Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat, and other influential musicians of the genre.

Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:21 “It’s Got To Be FUNKY” 04:08 American Bandstand & Motown 07:37 Respectability Politics & Assimilation 12:45 James Brown and “The Groove” 16:14 “I’m Black and I’m Proud” 19:00 The Rhythm of Funk & “The One” 24:30 Funky Moves & Funky Grooves 28:34 Hippie Funk: Sly & The Family Stone 30:02 Funk vs. Motown 34:25 Parliament Funkadelic – “Flashlight” 40:30 The Black Anthem 41:50 Gospel, Funk, and Kirk Franklin 45:59 Funk is Sacred & Secular 49:06 The Great Space Race: Funk & Afrofuturism 52:10 Women in Funk: Soul Sista 54:45 The Great Migration 1:00:04 Funk in Africa: Fela Kuti & Afrobeat 1:08:45 Elton John & David Bowie & The Talking Heads 1:16:50 The Funk Lives On: Hip-Hop Samples 1:20:51 Credits