Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid to late 1960s when African-American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and R&B. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground. Funk uses the same extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths.
Like much African-inspired music, funk typically consists of a complex groove with rhythm instruments such as electric guitar, electric bass, Hammond organ, and drums playing interlocking rhythms.
Many of the most famous bands in the genre also played disco and soul extensively. Funk samples have been used extensively in genres including hip hop, house music, and drum and bass. It is also the main influence of go-go, a subgenre associated with funk.
