PBS Independent Lens
2025
80
 Min
DIRECTED BY 
Stanley Nelson & Nicole London

WE WANT THE FUNK!

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Stanley Nelson's syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, from early roots to 1970s urban funk and beyond.

WE WANT THE FUNK! is a syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, spanning from African, soul, and early jazz roots, to its rise into the public consciousness. Featuring James Brown's dynamism, the extraterrestrial funk of George Clinton's Parliament Funkadelic, transformed girl group Labelle, and Fela Kuti's Afrobeat, the story also traces funk's influences on both new wave and hip-hop.

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release

April 8, 2025

RUNTIME

80
 MIN

DISTRIBUTOR

PBS Independent Lens

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DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY

Stanley Nelson
Nicole London

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

Keith Brown
Marcia Smith
Carrie Lozano
Lois Vossen

EDITORS

Mark Fason
Richard Lowe