If one track should be cited as a crucial influence on West Coast G-Funk, it’s the contagious electronic talk box thwomp of Zapp’s More Bounce To The Ounce. Unsurprisingly, the 1980 track has P-Funk connections: Zapp’s Roger Troutman a Cincinnati childhood friend of Bootsy Collins, who co-produced and plays guitar. A visiting George Clinton, originally planning to release the album on his Uncle Jam label, suggested looping a section of another track and the groove – which Dr Funkenstein liked enough to further refine on his Atomic Dog – was born.
The album leads with the 10-minute original, before five further party-pointed variations, the group revelling in their funky new mutant. Roger and his brothers recycled the formula for the rest of the decade; Prince achieved huge success building on it, while the 90s saw it nudge out James Brown for sampler-happy hip-hop.
Roger’s career ended in mysterious tragedy in April 1999, when brother Larry is said to have shot him dead before turning the gun on himself, leaving More Bounce To The Ounce as a quintessential one hit, genre-defining funk landmark, sounding as timelessly butt-friendly as ever on this typically-affectionate Get On Down reissue.
