A rhythmically-driven, bass-heavy form of Black music, funk provided the bridge between 1960s soul music and late-1970s Disco. Emerging in America at the same time as the civil rights movement, funk became implicitly associated with Black pride because of its unapologetic celebration of traits that were often negatively associated with Black people. The key attributes that separated funk from other forms of popular music were expressiveness, unbridled sexual energy and a raw, gritty attitude. After its 1970s commercial heyday, funk continued to influence a variety of genres, most notably hiphop—with the massive back-catalog of funk records providing a large reservoir of different sounds.

As a musical form, credit for funk's origins is overwhelmingly given to James Brown. As a bandleader, he developed the use of the guitar, horns, and keyboards as purely rhythmic instruments used to support the bass and drum rhythm section. One of the...