Episode 24 | The Blues Foundation of Funk with Tony Bolden

Funk, in both dance and in music, conveys a deep sincerity and honesty in communicating the emotional depth of the Black artist, from James Brown to Chaka Khan to Sly Stone and even today’s Jazmine Sullivan.

But is there another way to think about these performers as organic intellectuals who are able to feel what is happening in the culture and bring language to that experience? Tony Bolden, Associate Professor of African and African-American Studies at the University of Kansas,  joins Left of Black host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal to discuss how the blues laid the foundation for funk music. Prof. Bolden’s latest book, Groove Theory: The Blues Foundation of Funk, was published by University Press of Mississippi.