Michael "Clip" Payne (born William Michael Payne on September 25, 1958 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American musician. He has been a member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective since 1977. First credited on Parliament's 1979 release "Gloryhallastoopid" with "Choir Chours", he has appeared on over 20 Parliament-Funkadelic collective recordings primarily as a vocalist and keyboardist.[1] Payne, who is sometimes called "The Man in the Box", typically acts as an on-stage commentator during Parliament-Funkadelic's live performances.
Payne's first professional work was the recording of Edwin Starr's "Twenty-Five Miles" with producer Norman Whitfield. In addition to his work with George Clinton and P-Funk, Payne has performed with DRUGS, Cadillac Heights, The 420 Funk Mob, Stoney Clove Lane, and Cacophonic FM.
Payne founded WEFUNK International in the late 80's as a vehicle for his solo projects which became WEFUNK AD2k Records and Filmworks in 1999.
