Funk is its Own Reward

The 1960s marked the dawning of a new era - and nowhere was this more manifest than in black America. Social shifts and artistic attitudes fuelled by flower power, as well as opportunities afforded by the economic boom, saw black Americans make astonishing gains, paving the way for a reimagining of modern culture.

By the 1970s, new wealth, higher aspirations and a visible black middle class had begun to reshape the arts, most noticeably the music scene. The seeds of a new music were sown, and Funk flourished in the new, fertile cultural climate. A vocal celebration and embracing of blackness, it became the soundtrack that drove and illuminated the social and artistic revolution.

As its audience moved on up Funk relocated mainstream black music from the ghetto to suburbia. But its roots were never forgotten. Nobody ever doubted that this was a self-sustaining and self-defining black music - an awareness that enabled Funk to keep on developing its own rhythms. Soul's passion, jazz's adventure and the discipline of R&B came together with a confidence, financial basis and sense of purpose to produce some of the best and biggest black music, from James Brown to Curtis Mayfield.

An intimate portrait of a defining sound, Funk Is Its Own Reward draws on contributions from a cast of musicians and producers, writers and directors, designers and executives, including George Clinton, Bootsy and Stevie Wonder, to weave together a rich social and cultural history. Astute and thoughtful, Lloyd Bradley examines Funk's significant contribution to and influence on modern culture - and the America that helped it thrive.