Brent Nicastro
Clyde Stubblefield at Inn Cahoots club, August 1991
Stubblefield at Inn Cahoots: People are shocked that the legendary groove-master makes his home in little Madison, Wis.
Hip-hop lost a legend when Clyde Stubblefield died Feb. 18.
Though he wasn’t an emcee or producer, Stubblefield played a major part in the very early days of the genre by literally creating the backbeat of rap music.
Known as the Funky Drummer since his days drumming for James Brown, Stubblefield died at 73 of kidney failure. While working with Brown, Stubblefield created a beat that has been sampled by hundreds of rap artists over the years.
Part of the song that earned him his nickname, 1969’s “Funky Drummer” — specifically an eight-bar drum solo section of the song — was used by pioneering rap DJs in the late 1970s and ’80s when they cut up funk, soul and disco tracks and looped them for rappers to rhyme over.
The beat was later used by producers for some of hip-hop’s most popular anthems, including Boogie Down Production’s “South Bronx,” Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” and Dr. Dre’s “Let Me Ride.” Stubblefield's drum beat has also recently been used by rap megastars Nicki Minaj and Eminem.
"Everybody in hip-hop — and not just hip-hop, but other genres — knew his beat and his spirit, even if they didn't know of him," says DJPain 1, who once played a show with Stubblefield in Madison at the now closed King Club. “Hip-hop should mourn him as one of the loudest heartbeats that still drives some of our most-loved music.”
Pain 1 wasn’t the only local hip-hop artist to benefit from Stubblefield’s presence. Over the years, Stubblefield joined many of Madison’s emcees for live sets, such as this live track recorded in 2004 with the Crest, says Karen Reece, president of the Urban Community Arts Network, which promotes the local rap scene.
“He was never too big to share the stage with local artists,” says Reece. “His enduring presence in the Madison music scene gave local artists performing at his side an invaluable opportunity to soak up talent, artistry and professionalism that they couldn't have experienced anywhere else.”
One such local artist was Rob Dz, who says Stubblefield taught him as much on stage as off. “I learned a lot about entertaining from Clyde. [He] always gave life lessons, and I appreciated that almost more than I appreciated [his] talent,” says Dz. “He was always a straight shooter, blunt and to the point. He said what he felt, even if you didn't like it...that was the beauty of Clyde. He would cuss you out and forget about it once his sticks clicked.”
As national DJs, producers and artists pay their tributes and post remembrances online of Stubblefield and his influence, locals are doing the same. Rebecca “BossLady” Barber, a hip-hop DJ at WORT-FM, played an interview with Stubblefield by old school emcee Marley Marl and LL Cool J’s Funky Drummer-sampled “Mama Said Knock You Out” on her Universal Soul Explosion show on Feb. 18. Derrell Connor, of the new classic hip-hop show The Boombox, played a number of Funky Drummer-driven tracks during his Feb. 20 show.
“I've often felt that James Brown is the unofficial king of hip-hop, [and] his funky drummer Clyde Stubblefield serves as its beat master,” says Connor, who met Stubblefield many times. “No other beat — besides the Amen break — has been more important to the genre than Funky Drummer. Clyde Stubblefield is hip-hop.”
Madison College architecture professor Michael Ford — aka the Hip-Hop Architect, who is the lead designer on the proposed Universal Hip-Hop Museum in New York City — says he’s working with museum organizers to create a tribute to Stubblefield.
“Although I never met him, it’s impossible to not know and recognize his contribution to hip-hop culture,” he says. “I think the story behind that beat and its impact must be an interactive exhibit at the museum — something that would allow people to actively search and listen to samples of ‘Funky Drummer.’”
Despite his major contribution to rap, Stubblefield was never paid any money from those who sampled his beat. Instead, James Brown, and now his estate, earns all of the money artists pay to use the Funky Drummer beat, if they pay anyone at all.
Almost a decade ago, I spoke to Stubblefield about how rappers across the globe have used his genius to make millions. More than anything, he said he wanted recognition. “Just give me some credit,” he said, laughing a bit.
Over the years, producers and DJs have modified the beat, but Stubblefield always knew it was his. “They try to change it, slow it down, speed it up, even reverse it, but I can always tell it’s mine, that it’s 'Funky Drummer'” he said. “I created that.”
[A fundraising page to help Stubblefield’s wife, Jody Hannon, pay for funeral expenses can be found here. Also, the Madison Concourse Hotel is hosting a celebration of Stubblefield's life in its Capital Ballroom, Friday, Feb. 24, 5-8 p.m.]
