The word “funk” is actually slang for a strong smell and early on it implied stronger rhythmic patterns. The harder rhythms made the songs sound grittier and more urgent, this is what funk music is all about! 
Back in the 1960‘s, a new genre was making its way to the American music scene. A mixture of R&B, jazz and soul music, albeit with more rhythm. This genre was largely made popular by the soul and R&B musicians of that time. They wanted to create something stronger and more appropriate for the dance floor.
Preceding the disco era, this type of music was not initially welcomed by all — perhaps because it was considered such a departure from mainstream music. However, as time went on, funk music caught on and soon made its way to the dance floor.
Famous Funk Artists Back In The Day
As funk music started to gain momentum, more and more musicians began to experiment with it. One of the most popular funk musicians of that time was James Brown. His string of hits brought about a funk revolution. (Think, I Feel Good, Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag, Sex Machine.)
Another giant was George Clinton. He brought about the concept of funk-rock emphasizing his own brand of rock guitar. Rick James pushed the genre even further. Other notable artists who dabbled in this genre include Michael Jackson (remember his song, Billie Jean?) and Prince. As time went on, it became clear that funk music was here to stay as more and more artists incorporated their own unique funk hybrids into their music.
Funk Music Today
Today, funk music is gaining more and more fans worldwide as famous musicians release songs that rely heavily on the characteristics of this genre. Perhaps the biggest example of it’s growing popularity today is Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk”. This song claimed the top spot for many weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 list in 2015.
Snoop Dogg also revived funk with “Peaches n Cream” and Maroon 5 redid their popular track “Sugar” in a funkier fashion. Other funk artists worth mentioning include Janelle Monae, Pharrell Williams and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, known for coming up with amazing funky tracks.
Here at ArtAndRobinsMusic, we are proud to offer our own royalty free funk music for your videos, commercials, trailers or even movies. With our built-in player you can also listen to the wide selection of royalty free production music that we offer.