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Friday Funk #8 – ‘Flex’ by Bernie Worrell
Friday Funk #8 – ‘Flex’ by Bernie Worrell
Friday Funk #8 – ‘Flex’ by Bernie Worrell
‘Flex’ was a standout track on Bernie Worrell’s 1993 album, Blacktronic Science. Worrell’s solo work was a chance for him to stretch out and shine in a plethora of styles and sounds. On this album, he played harpsichord, Hammond organ, Mini Moog, melodica, Clavinet, electronic piano, synthesiser, ‘Material Strings’, and sang. Worrell danced nimbly across funk, jazz, classical, and rap.
Worrell started playing piano at three years old, played his first classical concert at four, and wrote a concerto at eight. In 2014, Worrell said he didn’t like how classical music was put “on a pedestal. (...) I mix music, all genres, because nothing is above, so I rebelled against this so-called highest form.” The following year, he said of mixing styles of music, “I’ve been doing that for years. It was positive all the way, because I knew it could be done.”
‘Flex’ was one of the tracks that merged funk and rap. A catchy horn riff comes and goes, sometimes playing a supporting role and sometimes the star (as shortly before 5 minutes, for example). Bernie’s main organ riff is used sparingly too, varied with light-handed riffing and Mini Moog sounds resembling electronic saws. The James Brown/J.B.’s style studio chatter (“Hey, Bernie, play some more”, “Hey, Bernie, I’m sick of you, man”) adds a further sense of spontaneity.
Back in the ’70s, P-Funkers would join their funky friends on each other’s albums as members branched out with their own record deals. Although released in 1993, long after Parliament-Funkadelic’s heyday, Blacktronic Science featured members in the same manner as albums by Bootsy’s Rubber Band, Eddie Hazel, The Horny Horns, Parlet, The Brides of Funkenstein, and on Worrell’s own All the Woo in the World (1978). ‘Flex’ called together P-Funk stars George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Gary “Mudbone” Cooper, Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley.
Clinton’s two hooks stand out despite being used sparingly through the six minutes. “Let the shaking begin right here / You be standing in the epicentre” has a brilliantly idiosyncratic P-Funk melody and flow. Bernie’s synth bass, in the vein of ‘Flash Light’, wobbles in the gaps between Clinton's words.
“From the shifting to the shaking to the aftershock / Sitting ’round waiting on the tectonic plates to move” is a little more straightforward – about as straightforward as a Clinton vocal gets, which is to say not all that straightforward. The boatload of syllables is balanced by the extended notes in “aftershock” and “move”.
The lyrics were picked up and shifted around for the 2005 George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars album, How Late Do U Have 2BB4UR Absent? The song 'Paradigm', featuring Prince, contains the lines “Let the shaking begin” and “You’re standing in the epicentre.”
Information on the rappers is scarce, but from the credits they appear to be James Sumbi and Mike G. (not the Mike G of Odd Future, given he would have been a toddler). They bring a long list of boasts with late ’80s/early ’90s flows.
The first rapper often places emphasis on offbeats, adding to the feeling of restlessness. The second’s rhyme schemes are more predictable, but he brings a fun, bouncing energy, particularly towards the end of his second verse full of “o” rhymes (“The others fall off because they’re moving too slow”).
Bootsy Collins, given credit for his vocals on this song, might have sang his part in the studio (he plays guitar on this track after all) but his trademark “Uhhh” (3:17) and “Well, uhhh” (3:26) sound remarkably like they’ve been sampled from 'Stretching Out (In a Rubber Band)’ (3:55). Then again, they also sound like the “Well, uhhh” in 'I'd Rather Be with You' (3:55) from the same album, so it’s likely that Bootsy just enjoyed using his cartoon voice.
Bootsy’s guitar is of a typical James Brown/Parliament part with tight, high-pitched strums, the kind of thing his brother Catfish would play. (Bernie and his co-producer Bill Laswell were happy to dip into the P-Funk bag of tricks for this album. ‘Time Was’ samples ‘Aquaboogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)’.)
The main drum loop, courtesy of either Laswell or Darryl Mack, continues throughout most of the track, aside from the chorus (“I got the flex”), with its backwards snare sounds the main feature. Each of the other elements of the song discussed are constantly shifting around and soon swapped out for another part, in a similar vein to ‘Aquaboogie’ and the album that featured on, Motor-Booty Affair.
In Clinton’s autobiography, he called Blacktronic Science one of his favourite albums “from the extended P-Funk family.” Clinton wrote, “Bernie kept the spirit of old Parliament alive by playing classical keyboard over funky beats.”
‘Flex’ was a standout track on Bernie Worrell’s 1993 album, Blacktronic Science. Worrell’s solo work was a chance for him to stretch out and shine in a plethora of styles and sounds. On this album, he played harpsichord, Hammond organ, Mini Moog, melodica, Clavinet, electronic piano, synthesiser, ‘Material Strings’, and sang. Worrell danced nimbly across funk, jazz, classical, and rap.
Worrell started playing piano at three years old, played his first classical concert at four, and wrote a concerto at eight. In 2014, Worrell said he didn’t like how classical music was put “on a pedestal. (...) I mix music, all genres, because nothing is above, so I rebelled against this so-called highest form.” The following year, he said of mixing styles of music, “I’ve been doing that for years. It was positive all the way, because I knew it could be done.”
‘Flex’ was one of the tracks that merged funk and rap. A catchy horn riff comes and goes, sometimes playing a supporting role and sometimes the star (as shortly before 5 minutes, for example). Bernie’s main organ riff is used sparingly too, varied with light-handed riffing and Mini Moog sounds resembling electronic saws. The James Brown/J.B.’s style studio chatter (“Hey, Bernie, play some more”, “Hey, Bernie, I’m sick of you, man”) adds a further sense of spontaneity.
Back in the ’70s, P-Funkers would join their funky friends on each other’s albums as members branched out with their own record deals. Although released in 1993, long after Parliament-Funkadelic’s heyday, Blacktronic Science featured members in the same manner as albums by Bootsy’s Rubber Band, Eddie Hazel, The Horny Horns, Parlet, The Brides of Funkenstein, and on Worrell’s own All the Woo in the World (1978). ‘Flex’ called together P-Funk stars George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Gary “Mudbone” Cooper, Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley.
Clinton’s two hooks stand out despite being used sparingly through the six minutes. “Let the shaking begin right here / You be standing in the epicentre” has a brilliantly idiosyncratic P-Funk melody and flow. Bernie’s synth bass, in the vein of ‘Flash Light’, wobbles in the gaps between Clinton's words.
“From the shifting to the shaking to the aftershock / Sitting ’round waiting on the tectonic plates to move” is a little more straightforward – about as straightforward as a Clinton vocal gets, which is to say not all that straightforward. The boatload of syllables is balanced by the extended notes in “aftershock” and “move”.
The lyrics were picked up and shifted around for the 2005 George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars album, How Late Do U Have 2BB4UR Absent? The song 'Paradigm', featuring Prince, contains the lines “Let the shaking begin” and “You’re standing in the epicentre.”
Information on the rappers is scarce, but from the credits they appear to be James Sumbi and Mike G. (not the Mike G of Odd Future, given he would have been a toddler). They bring a long list of boasts with late ’80s/early ’90s flows.
The first rapper often places emphasis on offbeats, adding to the feeling of restlessness. The second’s rhyme schemes are more predictable, but he brings a fun, bouncing energy, particularly towards the end of his second verse full of “o” rhymes (“The others fall off because they’re moving too slow”).
Bootsy Collins, given credit for his vocals on this song, might have sang his part in the studio (he plays guitar on this track after all) but his trademark “Uhhh” (3:17) and “Well, uhhh” (3:26) sound remarkably like they’ve been sampled from 'Stretching Out (In a Rubber Band)’ (3:55). Then again, they also sound like the “Well, uhhh” in 'I'd Rather Be with You' (3:55) from the same album, so it’s likely that Bootsy just enjoyed using his cartoon voice.
Bootsy’s guitar is of a typical James Brown/Parliament part with tight, high-pitched strums, the kind of thing his brother Catfish would play. (Bernie and his co-producer Bill Laswell were happy to dip into the P-Funk bag of tricks for this album. ‘Time Was’ samples ‘Aquaboogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)’.)
The main drum loop, courtesy of either Laswell or Darryl Mack, continues throughout most of the track, aside from the chorus (“I got the flex”), with its backwards snare sounds the main feature. Each of the other elements of the song discussed are constantly shifting around and soon swapped out for another part, in a similar vein to ‘Aquaboogie’ and the album that featured on, Motor-Booty Affair.
In Clinton’s autobiography, he called Blacktronic Science one of his favourite albums “from the extended P-Funk family.” Clinton wrote, “Bernie kept the spirit of old Parliament alive by playing classical keyboard over funky beats.”
‘Flex’ was a standout track on Bernie Worrell’s 1993 album, Blacktronic Science. Worrell’s solo work was a chance for him to stretch out and shine in a plethora of styles and sounds. On this album, he played harpsichord, Hammond organ, Mini Moog, melodica, Clavinet, electronic piano, synthesiser, ‘Material Strings’, and sang. Worrell danced nimbly across funk, jazz, classical, and rap.
Worrell started playing piano at three years old, played his first classical concert at four, and wrote a concerto at eight. In 2014, Worrell said he didn’t like how classical music was put “on a pedestal. (...) I mix music, all genres, because nothing is above, so I rebelled against this so-called highest form.” The following year, he said of mixing styles of music, “I’ve been doing that for years. It was positive all the way, because I knew it could be done.”
‘Flex’ was one of the tracks that merged funk and rap. A catchy horn riff comes and goes, sometimes playing a supporting role and sometimes the star (as shortly before 5 minutes, for example). Bernie’s main organ riff is used sparingly too, varied with light-handed riffing and Mini Moog sounds resembling electronic saws. The James Brown/J.B.’s style studio chatter (“Hey, Bernie, play some more”, “Hey, Bernie, I’m sick of you, man”) adds a further sense of spontaneity.
Back in the ’70s, P-Funkers would join their funky friends on each other’s albums as members branched out with their own record deals. Although released in 1993, long after Parliament-Funkadelic’s heyday, Blacktronic Science featured members in the same manner as albums by Bootsy’s Rubber Band, Eddie Hazel, The Horny Horns, Parlet, The Brides of Funkenstein, and on Worrell’s own All the Woo in the World (1978). ‘Flex’ called together P-Funk stars George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Gary “Mudbone” Cooper, Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley.
Clinton’s two hooks stand out despite being used sparingly through the six minutes. “Let the shaking begin right here / You be standing in the epicentre” has a brilliantly idiosyncratic P-Funk melody and flow. Bernie’s synth bass, in the vein of ‘Flash Light’, wobbles in the gaps between Clinton's words.
“From the shifting to the shaking to the aftershock / Sitting ’round waiting on the tectonic plates to move” is a little more straightforward – about as straightforward as a Clinton vocal gets, which is to say not all that straightforward. The boatload of syllables is balanced by the extended notes in “aftershock” and “move”.
The lyrics were picked up and shifted around for the 2005 George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars album, How Late Do U Have 2BB4UR Absent? The song 'Paradigm', featuring Prince, contains the lines “Let the shaking begin” and “You’re standing in the epicentre.”
Information on the rappers is scarce, but from the credits they appear to be James Sumbi and Mike G. (not the Mike G of Odd Future, given he would have been a toddler). They bring a long list of boasts with late ’80s/early ’90s flows.
The first rapper often places emphasis on offbeats, adding to the feeling of restlessness. The second’s rhyme schemes are more predictable, but he brings a fun, bouncing energy, particularly towards the end of his second verse full of “o” rhymes (“The others fall off because they’re moving too slow”).
Bootsy Collins, given credit for his vocals on this song, might have sang his part in the studio (he plays guitar on this track after all) but his trademark “Uhhh” (3:17) and “Well, uhhh” (3:26) sound remarkably like they’ve been sampled from 'Stretching Out (In a Rubber Band)’ (3:55). Then again, they also sound like the “Well, uhhh” in 'I'd Rather Be with You' (3:55) from the same album, so it’s likely that Bootsy just enjoyed using his cartoon voice.
Bootsy’s guitar is of a typical James Brown/Parliament part with tight, high-pitched strums, the kind of thing his brother Catfish would play. (Bernie and his co-producer Bill Laswell were happy to dip into the P-Funk bag of tricks for this album. ‘Time Was’ samples ‘Aquaboogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)’.)
The main drum loop, courtesy of either Laswell or Darryl Mack, continues throughout most of the track, aside from the chorus (“I got the flex”), with its backwards snare sounds the main feature. Each of the other elements of the song discussed are constantly shifting around and soon swapped out for another part, in a similar vein to ‘Aquaboogie’ and the album that featured on, Motor-Booty Affair.
In Clinton’s autobiography, he called Blacktronic Science one of his favourite albums “from the extended P-Funk family.” Clinton wrote, “Bernie kept the spirit of old Parliament alive by playing classical keyboard over funky beats.”