James Brown - Funky President (People It's Bad)

Year Released: 1974
Genre: Funk

Description:

Released on Polydor in 1974, “Funky President” stands as one of Brown’s most influential grooves—a lean, socially charged funk track built around an impossibly crisp beat by drummer Allan Schwartzberg and Brown’s sharp rhythm guitar stabs. The lyrics call for leadership and change in post-Watergate America, but the true power lies in its rhythmic architecture: every instrument functioning as percussion.

Sampling Legacy: Arguably one of the most-sampled James Brown cuts ever, “Funky President” has fueled countless hip-hop classics, including Eric B. & Rakim’s “Eric B. Is President,” Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” N.W.A’s “Alwayz into Somethin’,” LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out,” and Kanye West’s “New God Flow.” Its snare and hi-hat pattern remains a cornerstone of breakbeat culture.