"It’s Too Funky in Here" by James Brown

James Brown dropped this nuclear funk blast at the tail end of the disco era in 1979. He returned to reclaim his rightful funk crown and to remind everyone that there would be no disco—and most popular dance music for that matter—if not for him blessing the world with the FUNK more than a decade earlier. The Godfather delivers a dynamic vocal performance over the smoldering groove, which boasts tight horn salvos and nasty guitar licks. And renowned session player David Hood unleashes some monstrous funk with a savage bass line.

The legendary funk pioneer sounds really energized here, like he’s genuinely enjoying himself. He had already been in the music game for nearly 25 years at this point, but could still get really pumped up when the right groove hit him.

“It’s Too Funky in Here” was written by Brad Shapiro, George Jackson, Walter Shaw, and Robert Miller. It was a single from James’s 1979 album, The Original Disco Man, which was produced by Shapiro and released on Polydor Records. The song charted at #15 on the U.S. R&B singles chart and reached #59 on the Canadian charts, and peaked at #57 in Italy. 

It has been sampled on four songs and was featured on the soundtrack of the 1981 psychological thriller The Fan. It was also featured in an episode of the TV series Todd's Pop Song Reviews (season 6, episode 8, 2014). The P-Funk All-Stars released an incredible cover of "It's Too Funky In Here" in 1982.

In addition to David Hood, the other players on the track included Roger Hawkins (drums); Larry Byrum and Jimmy Johnson (lead guitar and rhythm guitar, respectively); Harrison Calloway (trumpet); Charles Rose (trombone); Harvey Thompson (saxophone); Ronnie Eades (baritone saxophone); and Barry Beckett and Randy McCormick on keyboards. And the background vocals were provided by Cynthia Douglas, Donna Davis, and Pam Vincent.

After dropping “It's Too Funky in Here,” James still wasn’t done funkin’ yet. He had more funk hits to come in the ‘80s with “Living in America,” “I’m Real,” and “Gravity.” He also continued to kill it on stage in that decade, maintaining his rep as one of the baddest performers to ever pick up a mic.

James performing "It's Too Funky In Here" at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1981

 

 "It's Too Funky in Here" at Amazon

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