Funk Is Its Own Reward: From R&B to Hip Hop

By Lloyd Bradley

From 1968 to 1978; from 'Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud' to Off The Wall; from the Third Harlem Cultural Festival to the P-Funk Earth Tour: Funk Is Its Own Reward plots the journey of a Black American cultural movement that was always about far more than music.


By putting the music firmly in the context of the movement, it uncovers the importance of black radio, how the wah-wah pedal was a happy accident, Motown's corporate role in the Dawn of Funk, why Sesame Street was the funkiest program on television, and so much more.

Author Lloyd Bradley is one of the UK's leading experts on modern black music. He has worked as a music journalist for over thirty years and is the author of several acclaimed books. He splits his time between London and Florida.

Joining Lloyd on this epic journey are a host of I-was-there contributors including but not limited to Bootsy Collins, Lynn Mabry of the Brides of Funkenstein, Isaac Hayes, Melvin Van Peebles, and George Clinton.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1472123417
• ISBN13: 9781472123411
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Hachette Mobius
• Length: 480 Pages