Under Where Smelled Funk?

We ask,  “Where?” whenever we need to know the answers to questions that are not clear. First, let’s see if we can smell it.  Funk isn’t always seen on the surface. Sometimes it is found in the crevices and cracks. Looking at inner-city life from the past 100 years,  let’s look at where Funk can be found. 

Oh, we forgot the translation. Under Where Smelled Funk means that something is, “as Funky as underwear.” Whether high up in outer space or deep down under water, not much can be seen in the darkness. People ask, is it ever Funky down there? Yes, just like underwear.’  “Where did you go get your Funk?” Funkologists, like archeologists, are constantly chronicling Funk’s origins, and the characteristics that denote authentic Funk are deeply dug.  

Gerald Early, author of One Nation Under a Groove: Motown and American Culture, said, ” There were other matters I wished to tackle in looking at Motown, specifically about African-American life and culture in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, not fully explored but tentatively mapped out for fuller exploration in some future book or two. Motown wasn’t the first independent company, but it was a powerhouse both financially and culturally–as it pertained to “Black music.”  People don’t realize that Motown and Funk belong in the same sentence. Quietly, Motown smoothed their Funk and hid it behind their polished style and grace.

As we travel deep into the future, new adherents of Funk emerge and seek to break the barriers that separate Funk from fiction.  Let us unite all Funk forms within the realm of rhythm.  Look at the past for a moment. Who sets the standards for Funk?  Mark Neal, in his book, What the Music Said: Black Popular Music and Black Public Culture, explains how, “In the era when leisure time and mass consumer culture were still foreign to the sensibilities of the American working class, the overt and aggressive pursuit of leisure, except during holidays and special occasions, was generally acknowledged as transgressive behavior among blacks.”  Regular leisure activity took place at the ‘jook’ joints on a regular basis. That is where Funk would be, before it was called Funk.

In the essay, Characteristics of Negro Expression, published in 1934, Zora Neale Hurston is credited with being the first to define ‘jook’ as a matter of official record (stated by Juliet Gorman, May 2001) saying that, “Jook is a word for a Negro pleasure house. It may mean a bawdy house. It may mean the house set apart on public works where the men and women dance, drink and gamble. Often, it is a combination of all these.”  We don’t have to ask about it, when we know about it.  Funk is on display in the same way.

Mark Neal further stated, “Thus the jook functioned as an institution that was perceived as transgressive in its very nature and the antithesis of the black church when compared to more bourgeois sensibilities.”  The mindset of jook culture was in line with the way “Black culture” was perceived overall.  Anyone outside of the accepted norms, was called deviant.  That same sentiment sounds like Funk.

Whether deep in space or deep down under water, not much can be seen in the darkness. People ask, it is very Funky under there? Yes, we  call it Funky, ‘ but under where?’  You either ‘do-do,’ or you ‘don’t-don’t.’ What do you do?  Now, doo-doo is funky, correct?  Even if it is close to Funk, or looks just like Funk, we’d have to ask, “Where did you go for your Funk?” Funkologists, like archeologists, are always chronicling Funk’s origins, and the characteristics that denote authentic Funk are deeply dug. Dig?

Gerald Early, author of, One Nation Under a Groove: Motown and American Culture, said, ” There were other matters I wished to tackle in looking at Motown, specifically about African-American life and culture in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, not fully explored but tentatively mapped out for fuller exploration in some future book or two. Motown wasn’t the first independent company, but it was a powerhouse both financially and culturally–as it pertained to “Black music.”  People don’t realize that Motown and Funk belong in the same sentence. Quietly, they smoothed their funk out and hid it behind the style and grace.

After we traveled deep into the future, new adherents of Funk emerged and sought to break through the barriers that separate Funk from fiction.  Funk is a higher power of thought that allows growth. Let us unite all life forms within the realm of light.  In case you ask, we can confirm that there is dark Funk.  Dark and ‘deep,’ and there is a distinction between Funk and the watered-down versions of Funk.

Mark Neal’s book, What the Music Said: Black Popular Music and Black Public Culture, explains how, “In the era when leisure time and mass consumer culture were still foreign to the sensibilities of the American working class, the overt and aggressive pursuit of leisure, except during holidays and special occasions, was generally acknowledged as transgressive behavior among blacks.”  Regular leisure activity took place at the ‘jook’ joints on a regular basis, and Mark Neal included a Zora Neale Hurston essay that spoke about it.

In the essay, Characteristics of Negro Expression, published in 1934, Zora Neale Hurston is credited with being the first to define ‘jook’ as a matter of official record (stated by Juliet Gorman, May 2001) saying that, “Jook is a word for a Negro pleasure house. It may mean a bawdy house. It may mean the house set apart on public works where the men and women dance, drink and gamble. Often, it is a combination of all these.”  We don’t have to ask about it, when we know about it.  Funk is on display in the same way.

Neal continued, saying, “Thus the jook functioned as an institution that was perceived as transgressive in its very nature and the antithesis of the black church when compared to more bourgeois sensibilities.”  The mindset of jook culture was in line with the way “Black culture” was perceived overall.  Anyone who was outside the accepted norms set by mainstream culture, was called deviant.  That same sentiment sounds like Funk.

What is the question here?  “Is all Funk, Funky and something we were supposed to hide from?”  Or, “If it isn’t Funky, is it really Funk?”  So, what do you do?  Are you dealing with Funky, or something ‘called’ Funk? Don’t call it Funk if it isn’t Funky.