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New Kids On The Block in "Games"

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New Kids On The Block Are For Real

No games in this week's Forgotten Video

GRAMMYs/Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

Welcome to Forgotten Videos. Well, for some forgotten, for others just filed away, and for others still, a totally brand-new discovery. Whichever category you fall into, each week we'll feature a video that's possibly been collecting dust when what it really deserves is a fresh look. Or, we'll be giving a fresh look at a video that deserves to be collecting dust. We're not here to judge, we just want to take you on a little trip down memory lane. Yep, you'll remember when hair was really that big, when drums were that up front in the mix, when video was young(er) and so were you.

New Kids On The Block
"Games"
1990

Hot on the heels of his success with teen R&B boy group New Edition (you may have also forgotten "Cool It Now"), producer Maurice Starr set out in search of another singing group to throb the hearts of young teenage girls. During a 1985 talent search in Boston, Starr came across the perfect five-ingredient recipe for a new all-boy vocal group — Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. The recruits, aptly named New Kids On The Block, landed a recording contract with Columbia Records and released their debut self-titled album in 1986, before any of the members had reached voting age.

As New Kids mania (you may remember, or recently threw out, the plethora of New Kids-labeled merchandise available from bed sheets and pajamas to dolls and lunch boxes) started to pick up speed in 1988, the group released Hangin' Tough, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spawned five Top 10 hits, including "Please Don't Go Girl," "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" and the title track. The guys hung tough into 1990 with the release of Step By Step, which again peaked at No. 1 and featured the rough-and-tumble "Games." The kids seemed tougher than ever in this video, which opens with a message for all the "suckas" from a street-ready Wahlberg, who proceeds to troll a semi-sketchy neighborhood and pick up hooligans along the way. The five-piece crew eventually meets up in nightclub with the rest of the "Beantown posse," except for Jordan Knight, who is seen singing off in a secluded spotlight until he arrives fashionably late and breaks into a dance.

The guys wouldn't reconvene until 1994, when they rebranded themselves NKOTB in an attempt to appeal to their former tween fans and released Face The Music, which fell short of their previous successes. Shortly after, the group acrimoniously parted ways. In 2008 NKOTB resurfaced and announced a tour and the release of a new album, The Block. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and sold 100,000 copies in its first week, proving to the "suckas" that NKOTB was still hangin' tough.

Did you talk junk about the NKOTB? Got a Forgotten Video recommendation? Leave us a comment.

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New Kids On The Block Press Photo 2024
New Kids On The Block

Photo: Austin Hargrave

interview

New Kids On The Block's Joey McIntyre Shares His Favorite Career Moments With The Iconic Boy Band

From conquering the Apollo in the '80s to writing songs on NKOTB's celebratory new album 'Still Kids,' the group's Joey McIntyre reflects on a stellar 40-year career in pop music.

GRAMMYs/May 16, 2024 - 09:33 pm

Before Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC ruled the pop roost in the '90s, New Kids On The Block were busy building the boy band template that everyone later followed for international chart success and incredibly ardent fan followings. And it's a legacy they're continuing to celebrate nearly four decades later.

On May 17, NKOTB dropped Still Kids, the group's first new album in 11 years and eighth overall. Standouts such as "Magic," "Runaway," and the album's lead single "Kids" are every bit as light, joyful and catchy as early hits like "Step By Step" and "Hangin' Tough." But they sound more mature than they did as teenagers; their harmonies are stronger and sweeter, while the beats and production sounds more sophisticated and contemporary. Fellow '80s/'90s stars DJ Jazzy Jeff and Taylor Dayne also guest star on the album to help them lean into the nostalgia while still staying current. (Jazzy Jeff will also join them on the Magic Summer Tour, which will make stops around North America from June 14 through Aug. 25 and further continue the throwbacks with Paula Abdul as the third tourmate.)

Of course, it's not a total surprise that New Kids would want their new work to celebrate the old. The group — brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood — has sold over 80 million albums, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and even an annual New Kids On The Block Day in Boston (for 35 years running!). Their fans, affectionately known as Blockheads, still come out in large numbers to see them perform; according to NKOTB's new label, BMG, they've sold over four million concert tickets since reuniting in 2007 after a 14-year hiatus.

But for McIntyre, the true career highlights aren't the major accolades — it's the moments that really saw NKOTB's talent, and love for one another, shine. In celebration of the release of Still Kids, McIntyre shared five of his most cherished memories from the group's meteoric pop career.

Hollywood Talent Nights At Lee School Before They Were Famous

Lee School is a public school in Dorchester — actually, very close to Jamaica Plain. We all grew up in different towns in Boston. The rest of the guys were from Dorchester and I was from Jamaica Plain, that was like our clubhouse. 

Through the grace of God, there was a lot going on for the people that wanted it. And these community people that just did it out of the goodness of their hearts and would set up a space for kids to come and number one, stay out of trouble, and number two, give it a shot and have a place to dance and sing and dream. 

We would have these Hollywood Talent Nights that [group creator] Maurice [Starr] would put on, and then there were other talent nights. I don't know how often they were, but even if there were three or four a year, maybe even less, it was something to work towards. And we would rehearse, if we weren't rehearsing at Jordan and John's [Knight's] house, in their basement, we would rehearse at the Lee School. 

In the basement of the Lee School, in the backstage, you would walk down the stairs and we'd perform in these little rooms. It was like dressing rooms. They had mirrors; it wasn't big mirrors, but they had mirrors for the waist up and that was a big deal. So we would perform there, and rehearse there, and it was exciting. We had a place to take chances and be inspired and have a ton of fun as well.

It started with the Lee School and then radio shows [on] WILD, the AM station, the only station that would think about playing us at the time — and it was like, How are we going to surprise them this time? There was a ferocity about it. 

Donnie [Wahlberg] is a born leader. Jordan would tell stories about how Donnie would get on the school bus and he'd run the show. He'd tell jokes, he'd rap, he'd make everyone feel good — it's just in his bones. I think we all had the fire, but there was definitely a ride or die vibe about every show we did. 

He worked at a sneaker store, so we'd save up and pool our money together for new outfits, and one time we came on with basketball warmups, those Patrick Ewing basketball warmups. We came on in sweatsuits. First of all, I was freakin' five feet tall, so I was swimming in everything that we had, but we'd come on and for our number we'd sing whatever, and at the perfect moment we'd rip off the sweatsuits and have red glitter suits on. We'd just try to win the crowd over every time.

I think we still have that spirit. We never want to rest on our laurels, we want to surprise people, otherwise it's just not worth it. We've been lucky enough to do what we love to do.

Performing At The Apollo Theater In 1988

We've been able to celebrate that a lot over the years. It really is, in so many ways, the pinnacle for the history of R&B and black music and soulful music, but also rock and roll. The world knew that if you could make it there and survive the Apollo, then you had what it takes to at least give it a shot in the music business.

And we were in that world. In Boston, we played for all-Black audiences. We loved R&B music. That's what we grew up on, so we weren't really necessarily fish out of water because, although we were very excited, and of course had lots of nerves, we'd been hustling as a bunch of young kids for a few years.

We got a chance to perform at the Apollo by literally pounding the pavement. And it was one of those days where Maurice was taking us around, and we were going to people's offices with a boombox, playing music and singing and dancing. And these people, even if they didn't like us, they were impressed. They couldn't argue with the guts that we had and the passion. 

The guy who ran the Apollo — I'm blanking on his last name, his first name was Al — he would host those nights, and we saw him on the street. Maurice was like, "Hey, Al! We want to come up!" So we came up and performed three songs in his office — it wasn't a very big office, either — and he said, "We'll have you down."

We weren't in the competition, we were a special guest, because I think it was on a Wednesday and they had a live night, and then they had a TV show [Showtime at the Apollo]. So we did the live night first, and then we did the TV show and they just went crazy for us. I was a little too young to be in tears, but the rest of the guys, we went up to the dressing room and everybody was in tears. 

We would hang out at the Apollo. The basement in the Apollo, man, you'd have Heavy D and Chuck D and Kool Moe Dee — you know, all the Ds! I just finished one of RuPaul's books… I met RuPaul in the stairwell of the Apollo Theater. He was going up and I was going down and we looked up at each other: "Hey, how you doin'?"

This was a long time ago but, you know, it was just a special place. Back then you had to connect in person. Now we have social media. It's wonderful, you can connect. You can DM people and suddenly connect with your heroes or collaborators and it's great, but back then, you had to be in the place. And that's what the Apollo represented for us. So we were just like kids in a candy store.

Getting Their First Tour Bus

There's nothing like jumping on your first tour bus. Our first manager, Mary Alford, had a two-door Mustang, I would have to sit on somebody's lap in the front seat, and then three dudes would be stuck in the back, and she'd be driving. The big splurge was getting a bigger four-door car to drive down to New York for those trips. We'd still be mashed up. 

You know, just to know you are literally going on the road for the first time. I'm 15, the other guys are, like, 18, 19, and there's really nothing cooler. But we were very emotional for a lot of reasons. For having a chance to do our thing and saying goodbye to our family, our hometown, knowing this is part of making it. So it was pretty cool. 

Working With New Edition

Before I was even in the New Kids, the New Edition album with "Cool It Now" was my [favorite] album. The fact that they were from Boston was amazing, a massive bonus, and we were all, just, goo goo ga ga any time we could meet them or think we could meet them. 

So over the years we would touch base, and then we got to sing together on our album The Block in 2008. But then a couple years ago we did a big mashup performance on the AMAs and I cried like a baby, like, three times. I cried on the phone with Donnie just thinking about it as we started rehearsals. Then I cried afterwards. 

A couple days later was Thanksgiving. We went around the table and talked about what we were grateful for, and the tears just came to my eyes. I couldn't think of anything better to be more thankful for than to work with your heroes. They've just been so gracious, so gracious, over the years. And from where they came and how they really set the standard for us. They really did. 

You don't realize it until the more you live and the more you are in this business. To have people walk the walk and talk the talk, and then be kind and supportive at the same time, it's very cool. Just to be friends with those guys is a dream.

Making Still Kids

You want to give the people what they're looking for and also surprise them at the same time, and I think this album has a good combination. I feel great about the fact that I ended up co-writing half of the album. I've just been writing more, so that was important to me. And I've been lucky enough to write for the group over the years, but this felt a little different. I think it takes guts to stretch and grow with the group, within the dynamics of the group. It's not easy but we've always said, "Let's go, let's give it a shot."

So this was a good combo, this album. It's new, we're definitely harking back to the good old days, but it definitely reflects that we're not 18 anymore. But I think they're that spirit. 

As we get older, we're always reaching back. We want to have that fire and that curiosity we had as kids. We don't want to let the cynicism of life pull us down and at the same time, all that fuels the writing and the expression. So it's exciting to feel good about an album that has the right balance. 

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Kendrick Lamar GRAMMY Rewind Hero
Kendrick Lamar

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

video

GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016

Upon winning the GRAMMY for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' Kendrick Lamar thanked those that helped him get to the stage, and the artists that blazed the trail for him.

GRAMMYs/Oct 13, 2023 - 06:01 pm

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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New Kids On The Block in 1989
New Kids On The Block in 1989.

Photo: Larry Busacca/WireImage

feature

How New Kids On The Block's 'Hangin' Tough' Set The Boy Band Blueprint

35 years after causing pop pandemonium across the world, GRAMMY.com looks back at New Kids On The Block's second album, 'Hangin' Tough,' and how it paved the way for a generation of singing and dancing pin-ups.

GRAMMYs/Aug 11, 2023 - 04:08 pm

It's unlikely you'll ever see New Kids On The Block's Hangin' Tough mentioned in the same influential breath as Pixies' Surfer Rosa, Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation of Millions and Tracy Chapman's self-titled debut. Yet like 1988's other game-changers, the Boston quintet's sophomore album was pivotal in shaping the musical landscape for the following decade and beyond.

Indeed, without its mix of gloopy ballads and slightly unconvincing attempts to establish street cred, the "Total Request Live" era would have looked and sounded very different. In fact, there maybe wouldn't have been a "TRL" era at all. And instead of having flowers thrown at him, Harry Styles may have ended up selling them.

Of course, New Kids On The Block — or NKOTB, as most of their adoring fans know them — weren't the first boy band.The Monkees for example, were specifically designed to replicate the teen-pop hysteriathe Beatles had whipped up organically. Family outfits the Osmonds andthe Jackson 5 might not have been manufactured, yet they relied just as much on their charming lead singer as their musical skills. And who can forgetMenudo, the Latin phenomenon who continually replaced members as soon as they hit 16 to retain their fresh-faced appeal?

But the New Kids were the first to set the template that would be applied to every group of all-singing, all-dancing guys who ever adorned the pages of Tiger Beat. There was the heartthrob (Jordan Knight), the cute one (Joey McIntyre, who was only 12 when he first joined), the older brother figure (Danny Wood), the bad boy (Donnie Wahlberg) and the sensitive one (Jonathan Knight). The tightly-choreographed routines, the air grabs, the willingness to pose without a shirt, the sharing of lead vocals (well, apart from poor Jonathan), the aversion to playing any instruments — pretty much every trope of the modern boy band stems from the Hangin' Tough era. Even so, the gang can't take all the credit.

NKOTB was the brainchild of Maurice Starr, a failed R&B singer who first realized the power of five in 1982 when he discovered another Boston outfit, New Edition. However, after producing and co-writing New Edition's self-titled debut, including U.K. No. 1 "Candy Girl," he was sacked, and not unreasonably, either. Returning home from a punishing tour, the youngsters learned their earnings amounted to little more than a measly $2 each. They subsequently, and successfully, sued their mentor for damages.

Undeterred, Starr simply set his sights on creating a rival group, and one that would dwarf his former's multi-platinum sales. This time around, though, he and business partner Mary Alford looked specifically for five Caucasian males: "I honestly believe that if they'd been white, [New Edition] would have been 20 times as big," Starr once toldEntertainment Weekly, perhaps explaining his new approach.

Initially, the American record-buying public appeared to be on Team New Edition. In the same year the R&B group's 1986 fourth album Under the Blue Moon and first taster "Earth Angel" both made the Top 50, New Kids' eponymous debut and its three singles failed to chart at all. In fact, NKOTB were on the verge of getting dropped by Columbia Records after "Please Don't Go Girl," the lead track from 1988 follow-up Hangin' Tough, was also met with a resounding shrug.

Luckily for the five-piece, a Florida pop station started championing the song in the nick of time — and thanks to a hastily reshot promo which better showed their poster appeal, other stations soon followed suit. Within a few weeks, New Kids had scored their first entry on the Hot 100 in October 1988, and Columbia — now sensing a new pop phenomenon on the horizon — started gearing up to release their second album.

Hangin' Tough entered theBillboard 200 at a lowly No. 157 in August later that year. But after  appearances on"Soul Train" and "Showtime at the Apollo," a support slot on Tiffany's U.S. tour (much to the "I Think We're Alone Now" singer's embarrassment, they were eventually bumped up to headliner) and growing word-of-mouth among the tween and teen crowd, it had climbed inside the Top 50 by the time its second single was sent to radio in November.

With its emphatic beats, chunky keyboards and woah-oh chants, "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" showcased a much harder edge than the bubblegum ballads NKOTB had initially tried to entice America's youth with. Its accompanying video — which combined footage of the band horsing around their hometown with belt-grabbing, leg-shuffling dance routines — further helped establish them as a crew rather than mere industry puppets, too.

As Donnie later told Variety, it was a change in direction informed by the group's school journeys to Roxbury from Dorchester: a court-mandated bussing system designed to desegregate Boston's black and white populations had helped expose them to new, cooler sounds. And second time around, they wanted to incorporate elements of funk, R&B and hip-hop into their own music.

Yet, Starr was still very much in the studio driving seat. Not only did he once again write and produce all 10 tracks, he'd repeatedly keep the youngsters on their toes by switching lead vocalists at the drop of a hat. "If a guy sounded 80 percent right for the part, then he was probably going to be replaced by someone who sounded 100 percent right," added Donnie, whose Calvin Kleins-wearing brother Mark was briefly part of the set-up. "Fortunately, we didn't take it personally."

However, the Svengali did at least allow his proteges a little more creative control. Danny enjoyed a crash course in engineering, mixing and programming, and, like Donnie and Jordan, was also given an associate producer title. This trio also helped pen one of the album's highlights, the lovestruck freestyle of "My Favorite Girl."

But it was with a retro love song that they scored their first chart-topper. Written with Motown legend Smokey Robinson in mind (hence Jordan's slightly pained falsetto),"I'll Be Loving You (Forever)" also practically invented the modern-day boy band ballad. Indeed, the gushy declaration of love, the close-knit harmonies, the overly sincere facial expressions, the sitting on bar stools. It's all here alongside the kind of piercing high note only dogs can hear. While most boy bands would replicate this formula at least once — usually around the Christmas period — the likes of All-4-One, 98 Degrees and Westlife would base their entire careers around it.

The New Kids' schoolboy influences are far more apparent, however, in "What'cha Gonna Do (About It)," an electro-funk number with shades of Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done for Me Lately," and the similarly punchy closer "Hold On." And then there's the title track, of course. Bridging the gaps between Run-D.M.C., the hair metal scene and the NBA anthem — it was actually intended to honor the group's basketball team of choice, the Boston Celtics — "Hangin' Tough" is essentially year 0 for boy bands going rebellious.

You can hear its echoes in everything from One Direction's Midnight Memories LP to the more blockbuster moments ofBackstreet Boys' oeuvre ("Larger Than Life," "Backstreet's Back"). "When the Lights Go Out" hitmakers Five, meanwhile, recorded three albums' worth of similarly bullish PG-13 pop. "Hangin' Tough" gave NKOTB their second U.S. No. 1 in the July of 1989, solidifying the band as a genuine pop sensation.

Its parent album, which eventually sold a colossal 14 million copies, was the year's second-best seller — ironically finishing behind Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel. Their same-named documentary, a mix of music promos and behind-the-scenes footage helmed by regular collaborator Doug Nichol, picked up a Best Music Video, Long Form nomination at the 1990 GRAMMYs (it lost to Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814).

Even their flop debut had gained a new lease of life, with a re-release of its Delfonics cover "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" giving them a sixth top 10 hit in the span of just 10 months. A seventh arrived soon after, too, thanks to "This One's for the Children," the only single from their hastily assembled holiday album, Merry, Merry Christmas.

The latter exemplified fans' determination to get their hands on anything NKOTB and the industry's determination to capitalize on this; the cynic would argue Hangin' Tough's most significant impact was the merchandise empire it spawned. You couldn't do your weekly shopping without seeing the boys' idolized faces staring back at you, whether on a magazine front cover, official doll or Coca-Cola ad campaign. The money-making potential certainly had industry leaders taking notes — particularly one future impresario.

It was while leasing a plane to the New Kids that the since-disgraced Lou Pearlman hit upon the brainwave of forming his own squeaky-clean, scream-worthy, all-male vocal group. The aviation entrepreneur had been flabbergasted to learn his young customers had raked in a billion dollars through record sales, merchandise and tours, and subsequently used their business model for his first proteges, even hiring their road manager Johnny Wright to look after day-to-day duties. By the turn of the millennium, Backstreet Boys and another Pearlman project, *NSYNC, had taken the boy band concept to new supernova heights.

Of course, not everyone was as enamored by NKOTB's success. Perhaps unimpressed with Hangin' Tough's synthetic production and the overuse of the word "girl," Rolling Stone readers crowned them Worst Band of 1989; while referring to their younger demographic, the Los Angeles Times remarked, "There's no law, written, natural or otherwise, that says kids can't have taste, too."

Over the past 30 years, though, the stuffy critical response appears to have softened. In 2016, the record even earned its own prestigious 33 ⅓ (the literary series celebrating seminal albums) by author Rebecca Wallwork, a longtime fan who argued people's kneejerk reactions to her idols clouded their judgement of the music. And a 30th anniversary reissue — which featured "80s Baby," a new, aptly titled collaboration with old touring buddy Tiffany and fellow '80s survivors Debbie Gibson, Naughty by Nature and Salt-N-Pepa — returned Hangin' Tough to the Top 20 of the Billboard 200.

While promoting the re-release with a special show at Harlem's Apollo Theater, Donnie told Rolling Stone that although New Kids On The Block believe they have since eclipsed Hangin' Tough, they're still immensely proud of how it changed pop music forever: "We don't get to decide how we're remembered. But if it's with that album, and those special times, then how lucky are we?"

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Franc Moody
Franc Moody

Photo: Rachel Kupfer 

list

A Guide To Modern Funk For The Dance Floor: L'Imperatrice, Shiro Schwarz, Franc Moody, Say She She & Moniquea

James Brown changed the sound of popular music when he found the power of the one and unleashed the funk with "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." Today, funk lives on in many forms, including these exciting bands from across the world.

GRAMMYs/Nov 25, 2022 - 04:23 pm

It's rare that a genre can be traced back to a single artist or group, but for funk, that was James Brown. The Godfather of Soul coined the phrase and style of playing known as "on the one," where the first downbeat is emphasized, instead of the typical second and fourth beats in pop, soul and other styles. As David Cheal eloquently explains, playing on the one "left space for phrases and riffs, often syncopated around the beat, creating an intricate, interlocking grid which could go on and on." You know a funky bassline when you hear it; its fat chords beg your body to get up and groove.

Brown's 1965 classic, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," became one of the first funk hits, and has been endlessly sampled and covered over the years, along with his other groovy tracks. Of course, many other funk acts followed in the '60s, and the genre thrived in the '70s and '80s as the disco craze came and went, and the originators of hip-hop and house music created new music from funk and disco's strong, flexible bones built for dancing.

Legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins learned the power of the one from playing in Brown's band, and brought it to George Clinton, who created P-funk, an expansive, Afrofuturistic, psychedelic exploration of funk with his various bands and projects, including Parliament-Funkadelic. Both Collins and Clinton remain active and funkin', and have offered their timeless grooves to collabs with younger artists, including Kali Uchis, Silk Sonic, and Omar Apollo; and Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, and Thundercat, respectively.

In the 1980s, electro-funk was born when artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish, and Egyptian Lover began making futuristic beats with the Roland TR-808 drum machine — often with robotic vocals distorted through a talk box. A key distinguishing factor of electro-funk is a de-emphasis on vocals, with more phrases than choruses and verses. The sound influenced contemporaneous hip-hop, funk and electronica, along with acts around the globe, while current acts like Chromeo, DJ Stingray, and even Egyptian Lover himself keep electro-funk alive and well.

Today, funk lives in many places, with its heavy bass and syncopated grooves finding way into many nooks and crannies of music. There's nu-disco and boogie funk, nodding back to disco bands with soaring vocals and dance floor-designed instrumentation. G-funk continues to influence Los Angeles hip-hop, with innovative artists like Dam-Funk and Channel Tres bringing the funk and G-funk, into electro territory. Funk and disco-centered '70s revival is definitely having a moment, with acts like Ghost Funk Orchestra and Parcels, while its sparkly sprinklings can be heard in pop from Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, and, in full "Soul Train" character, Silk Sonic. There are also acts making dreamy, atmospheric music with a solid dose of funk, such as Khruangbin’s global sonic collage.

There are many bands that play heavily with funk, creating lush grooves designed to get you moving. Read on for a taste of five current modern funk and nu-disco artists making band-led uptempo funk built for the dance floor. Be sure to press play on the Spotify playlist above, and check out GRAMMY.com's playlist on Apple Music, Amazon Music and Pandora.

Say She She

Aptly self-described as "discodelic soul," Brooklyn-based seven-piece Say She She make dreamy, operatic funk, led by singer-songwriters Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham. Their '70s girl group-inspired vocal harmonies echo, sooth and enchant as they cover poignant topics with feminist flair.

While they’ve been active in the New York scene for a few years, they’ve gained wider acclaim for the irresistible music they began releasing this year, including their debut album, Prism. Their 2022 debut single "Forget Me Not" is an ode to ground-breaking New York art collective Guerilla Girls, and "Norma" is their protest anthem in response to the news that Roe vs. Wade could be (and was) overturned. The band name is a nod to funk legend Nile Rodgers, from the "Le freak, c'est chi" exclamation in Chic's legendary tune "Le Freak."

Moniquea

Moniquea's unique voice oozes confidence, yet invites you in to dance with her to the super funky boogie rhythms. The Pasadena, California artist was raised on funk music; her mom was in a cover band that would play classics like Aretha Franklin’s "Get It Right" and Gladys Knight’s "Love Overboard." Moniquea released her first boogie funk track at 20 and, in 2011, met local producer XL Middelton — a bonafide purveyor of funk. She's been a star artist on his MoFunk Records ever since, and they've collabed on countless tracks, channeling West Coast energy with a heavy dose of G-funk, sunny lyrics and upbeat, roller disco-ready rhythms.

Her latest release is an upbeat nod to classic West Coast funk, produced by Middleton, and follows her February 2022 groovy, collab-filled album, On Repeat.

Shiro Schwarz

Shiro Schwarz is a Mexico City-based duo, consisting of Pammela Rojas and Rafael Marfil, who helped establish a modern funk scene in the richly creative Mexican metropolis. On "Electrify" — originally released in 2016 on Fat Beats Records and reissued in 2021 by MoFunk — Shiro Schwarz's vocals playfully contrast each other, floating over an insistent, upbeat bassline and an '80s throwback electro-funk rhythm with synth flourishes.

Their music manages to be both nostalgic and futuristic — and impossible to sit still to. 2021 single "Be Kind" is sweet, mellow and groovy, perfect chic lounge funk. Shiro Schwarz’s latest track, the joyfully nostalgic "Hey DJ," is a collab with funkstress Saucy Lady and U-Key.

L'Impératrice

L'Impératrice (the empress in French) are a six-piece Parisian group serving an infectiously joyful blend of French pop, nu-disco, funk and psychedelia. Flore Benguigui's vocals are light and dreamy, yet commanding of your attention, while lyrics have a feminist touch.

During their energetic live sets, L'Impératrice members Charles de Boisseguin and Hagni Gwon (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), and Tom Daveau (drums) deliver extended instrumental jam sessions to expand and connect their music. Gaugué emphasizes the thick funky bass, and Benguigui jumps around the stage while sounding like an angel. L’Impératrice’s latest album, 2021’s Tako Tsubo, is a sunny, playful French disco journey.

Franc Moody

Franc Moody's bio fittingly describes their music as "a soul funk and cosmic disco sound." The London outfit was birthed by friends Ned Franc and Jon Moody in the early 2010s, when they were living together and throwing parties in North London's warehouse scene. In 2017, the group grew to six members, including singer and multi-instrumentalist Amber-Simone.

Their music feels at home with other electro-pop bands like fellow Londoners Jungle and Aussie act Parcels. While much of it is upbeat and euphoric, Franc Moody also dips into the more chilled, dreamy realm, such as the vibey, sultry title track from their recently released Into the Ether.

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