Jay Worthy wants to bring the funk back to rap.
So naturally, the Compton MC (by way of Vancouver) took advantage of a chance DM from George Clinton‘s grandson, Zavier Croft. What resulted from the exchange is a 12-song collab album between LNDN DRGS and Clinton that features P Worthy rapping over some of Parliament-Funkadelic‘s greatest hits, like “(Not Just) Knee Deep” and “Atomic Dog” with the help of producer Sean House as the funk legend himself provides some much needed narration.
This all got put in motion because Croft was playing a Jay Worthy & Larry June project while on the road with his grandfather. “We were on tour a couple years ago, and I was playing 2 P’z in the Pod, and I believe I was playing ‘Maybe the Next Time,'” Zavier says over Zoom. “And George was like, ‘Yo, yo, who is that? Let’s see what they’re up to.’ So then I reached out to Jay Worthy, and as soon as I DM’d him and told him who I was, he asked for my phone number and FaceTimed me. After that it was just a snowball effect of working together and building this.”
Worthy and House were then presented with a batch of songs that were cleared for use and started crafting what would become Generation P. Once they had something to present, LNDN DRGS headed out to play what he had for George out in Tallahassee, Florida. “I hit up management for songs that George and Parliament own so we can sample them without legal issues or getting in trouble, so that George and the band can benefit from,” Croft tells me. “There were a couple of albums I already knew that we could use, like Uncle Jam Wants You and One Nation Under a Groove. I sent it to Jay and we talked through it. That’s how it all worked out.”
“I linked up with Sean, and then we made that trip down to Tallahassee, and G was f—king with it,” Worthy adds. “He P’d on it and I P’d on it, and then we took it back to L.A. and I started getting them features on it, and then I went back to Tallahassee and played it for them after it was all done. It’s been about like three years, man. For real.” Once they were ready to go, they leaned into the nostalgia and released a 16-bit video game entitled P of the Week — a mix of Super Mario Bros. and Streets of Rage — during the rollout.
Like Worthy’s Once Upon A Time double disc from last year, Generation P bridges the gap of California’s deep rap lineage with features from Snoop Dogg, Larry June, 03 Greedo, Kokane, Ty Dolla $ign, Channel Tres, Terrace Martin, YG, The Game, Ab-Soul, Aceyalone and Del the Funky Homosapien. During our talk, George raved about Jay’s work ethic, because it reminded him of himself. “Y’all remind me of remind me of those old-school days of hustlin’,” he said on several occasions with a big smile on his face and a blunt in his hand. The 85-year-old legend is still clearly having fun making music.
Check out Billboard‘s conversation with the newfound collaborators below.
This is a a random question, but do you rep Jersey or do you rep Cali? Because I’m from Jersey too, and was always curious. I grew up in Paterson.
George Clinton: Yeah, I rep the planet, man. But I used to hang around for Passaic and Englewood and Hackensack, you know? I grew up in Newark, and worked in Plainfield most of my life. But musically, the the tracks of the funk leads you to L.A. and Detroit.
Your sound is so synonymous with L.A., thanks to guys like DJ Quik and Warren G and Dr. Dre and them.
G.C.: You know, the high-frequency synthesizer sound of P-Funk in the records we made was big in L.A. The Funkadelic stuff was really big in New York City — Bronx, Brooklyn — all of that. So, you got the different styles of P-Funk in different places, and those two were the main ones.
When it comes to clearing samples for rappers, you have a reputation for being easy to work with compared to other older acts of your stature. Sometimes, they give rappers a hard time when they want to sample stuff. What is it about hip-hop that you love so much?
G.C.: The way I look at it is, if it’s gonna be, it’s gonna be. That was the next era that was gonna be. That was the reality of it, so I wasn’t gonna fight against what was gonna be the reality of the next set of music that was coming along. I always try to go with the flow — but there’s something to not letting it, because it’s hard to get paid for doing it. A lot of people are afraid of not getting paid, or didn’t know how they was going to get paid. I’d rather take the chance, and go on the side of this new thing, and we’ll figure that out later.
The record business has always been a hustle right from the beginning, that’s just now trying to clean itself up and get legal and all that. I’m glad I’m still around, because I still got a chance to get paid.
So, Jay, how did you feel about getting that DM and how did you guys end up doing an entire project together?
Jay Worthy: I was shocked, you know what I’m saying? Because George is one of my biggest influences. So, once I tapped in and it was real, we all got on the line. And actually, Zavier invited me out to the Spinning Gold movie premiere.
Zavier Croft: It was crazy, because we ended up being in a room — and it was me, Jay, Wiz, and Bishop Don Juan. We have so many stories but that was the first time being together.
J.W.: Then we went to George’s show, and Quik was there, which led to me working with Quik and executive producing his album — because he’s like, “S—t, if George is f—kin’ with you, I’m I’m not stopping the floodgates.” So, I’m very thankful for George trusting me and Sean with the sound and with his catalog and letting us do what we do. We went to work right away.
So, Jay, once you had songs to choose from, how did you and Sean approach making them? Were there any live instruments involved, or did you guys go for straight loops?
J.W.: Me and Sean like keeping the s—t pure, you know what I’m saying? That’s always been our sound. You know the motto: Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken. Them s—ts was already hits, and already slapping. We kept it raw. We didn’t add anything to any of those records.
G.C.: And they didn’t really have to sample, because we had access to the whole 24-track, so we could use any part of the whole thing. These were tracks from the original sessions, you didn’t have to loop anything — because half of the stuff was looped already. “Knee Deep” is 20 minutes long. We looped it ourselves when we did it.
So, you rap over certain parts of the songs.
J.W.: Exactly.
G.C.: Right. They came in on sections of the songs, but the songs are actually as they originally sound.
Yeah, they sound that. It reminded me of when Ghostface raps over an R&B track with the vocals and all that.
G.C.: That’s how Dre did it on The Chronic.
But then you also got Terrace Martin on there. Talk about adding someone like him to the mix — someone who plays live instruments.
J.W.: That’s my boy — but also I just feel like Terrace is the face of jazz when it comes down to the youth right now. Also [with] the works he’s done with Kendrick, SZA and TDE. I was able to play this record to Kendrick before it came out, and I was able to get Terrace’s ear on this, and he loved it and wanted to be a part of it. And I was honored to have Terrace a part of it. I think he added something great to it. He put that jazz on it, and that’s what was cool to me.
So actually, when you asked, did we add any instruments to the album? We did with Terrace on the saxophone… and then Channel Tres played a little bit of keys on the intro to “Oh I.”
You got Ty Dolla featured on here too. Did he play anything?
J.W.: Ty could play everything, but he didn’t on this. Me and G went and shot the video up at Ty’s, and I surprised G with Quik. Remember that, G? He was like, “What you doing here, man?”
G.C.: Quik is old-school with us from way back in the day. He was down with Garry [Shider, P-Funk musical director] and Bernie [Worrell, P-Funk co-founder] and myself way back in the day. It was good to see those guys.
J.W.: One of the sessions that you’ll see when we put out the documentary to the making of the album is this cat named Wyzard — George once said in this book that Wyzard was his favorite bass guitarist, from a funk band called Mother’s Finest, who happened to be my friend Leven Kali’s pops. I brought him through, and he played bass on the record with Del the Funky Homosapien and Aceyalone, but we never ended up using his parts.
Courtesy of stro for NewhighfilmzIn another interview, you said that you’ve been waiting for someone to use your music in the way Jay did for this project. Can you explain what you meant by that a bit more?
G.C.: Well, I was glad that somebody picked up the torch from what Cube and them used to do, and everybody from the Compton area around L.A. That attitude, you know? With the bouncing cars, that whole crew of folk, that vibe was synonymous with P-Funk. So, I was glad when Jay and them picked back up on that, because we never finished that. When we did it, people didn’t have enough. When N.W.A and Dre and all them did it, they still don’t have enough, you know what I’m saying? There’s still room for that to take place, and he came in and did just what the kids needed in 2026.
Yeah, I guess that G-Funk sound on the West Coast faded away over time a bit.
G.C.: Yeah, it goes in and out, but the people wasn’t finished with it. The industry was finished with it, because they wanted something new. But folks be saying, “No, give me some more of that.” That’s why we’ve been able to hang around when we ain’t supposed to be here — and as a matter of fact, watch what happens this year. It’s getting ready to get deep around here. We know how to travel that road of renewing yourself. And now I’m seeing that the funk is doing that now, and that’s what [Jay’s] done. He’s picked up on the ability of funk to reinvent itself and be brand new, and that’s what they’re doing for the new generation.
So, you’re saying you and Jay gonna hit the road together and maybe do some live shows?
G.C.: We got a mothership that ain’t doing nothin’.
J.W.: [Laughs.] You feel me? I would be honored, man. Whenever the big homie got time for me, I’m pulling up. I’m showing up. Put it that way. And to just add to that, I felt like it was my duty. I don’t know if I said this before, but P-Funk Records was always in my house. When my pops would hear me listening to Ice Cube’s “Bop Gun,” he would pull out his vinyl and be like, “I’d be playing this when you was a baby.” He would make me go in the the credits of Doggystyle and and The Chronic when I’d have those CDs. So, I just felt like it was my duty. I was introduced to the funk from the Dres, the Snoops, the Cubes, and now it’s my it’s my chance to introduce it to the younger generation.
Since you came in the game I feel like your music always had a laid back style, especially with Sean and LNDN DRGS. Real player s—t. Your sound always had some funk to it.
J.W.: You gotta understand. The homies would come through in lowriders and they hogs — and my big homies wasn’t listening to rap like that, especially in the ’80s. Motherf—kers was listening to funk. More homies in the hood was listening to more P-Funk than they were rap. Of course you had N.W.A and stuff like that, but when you look back at Menace II Society when they walk into that house party, what are they playing? They’re playing “Atomic Dog.”
And who influenced your style, George? Because what you’ve done in your career has been so influential and unique, I’ve always wondered how’d you come with your sound. Can you even explain it?
G.C.: I’m gonna put it like this. I’m kind of like what you call AI. I remember every style. Being in New York, working in New York as a songwriter, you learn all the styles of everybody, past and present. So, I looked at music from that point of view. After doo-wop changed to Motown, Motown to me was everything that was to be in music. And once I realized that was getting ready to change, it wasn’t going to stay there, I realized that psychedelic and rock was getting ready to be the next phase. Then, I realized none of it is stationary, that you can’t be married to any of it. Once I realized that, I was open to learning about everybody’s music. I didn’t have to be married to nothing when it looked like it was going to change. I changed before it changed.
The new s—t is gonna get on your nerves, because you’re old — and once it starts getting on your nerves, that’s the signal to start paying attention to what it is. I got in the habit of doing that really early, so by the time hip-hop came along, it reminded me of the same music that we got on our parents’ nerve with. I knew right away, because it sounds like something I don’t know nothing about, but it’s gonna be the next new thing… It graduates to getting better and better and more artsy, so I’m satisfied with whatever comes along. If it sounds silly, electronic or whatever, I’m down with it. I’m ready to go along with wherever we’re evolving to, and that helps me stay appreciative of whatever happens.
What is it about hip-hop that you appreciate so much?
G.C.: Once it gets good, it gets artsy-fartsy. I mean, Rakim was artsy-fartsy right from the beginning, and I had the opportunity to actually watch Eminem when he was really young, just playing the dozens with Proof and all of them. I had the chance to watch them, and he was good like he is today. He’s done got better and better. The thing was to be able to do it artsy-fartsy, slick, lyrical, and whatever the [new] generation calls it. Sometimes it called for protesting, sometimes it calls for just dancing. There’s all kinds of rap and hip-hop. I appreciate all of it.
Your thing is just keeping an open mind about everything, right?
G.C.: Yeah, keep an open mind, open behind too. You got to be able to dance and shake your booty. [Laughs.]
You got some interesting features on here. I like how you bridged the gap between guys like Kokane and 03 Greedo who each have unique voices in their own right.
J.W: G knows when he hears Kokane and me, he can hear himself. I wanted everybody that I reached out to had some lineage to this P-Funk thing.
You got Del and Aceyalone on a track too. That’s old-school and underground Cali rap right there.
J.W.: Yeah, because I’m a part of that too. G, actually, I wanted to ask you this. When Del did that I Wish My Brother George Was Here album with Cube, were you able to sit with him in the studio for some of that?
G.C.: No, I met him after he did that. He’s the one that introduced me to Cube.
J.W.: Oh s—t!
G.C.: He was the one that turned Cube on to P-Funk.
J.W.: Wow.
G.C.: Yeah, Del did a couple of records with us too. He was down for real. I liked the stuff he does with the Gorillaz.
J.W.: Yeah, he’s on tour with them right now.
G.C.: I remember when he first came out. He’s slept on but he’s really bad. He did something on First You Gotta Shake the Gate with us.
So, Jay, you basically A&R’d this project, yeah?
J.W.: Of course, I’ve A&R’d all my albums. I’ve come with the art direction and the concept. That’s kind of my thing.
Talk about the legwork it took for you to get these features together.
J.W.: It was real organic because I got relationships with a lot of people, and especially when you’re doing an album with George Clinton. You don’t gotta pull teeth, you know what I’m saying? Everybody was honored and happy to be a part of this, So it was cool, man.
I just pulled up, really, though. I got to do that with mostly everybody in person. I just pulled up to Ty’s studio, pulled up to YG’s studio game, even The Game. Matter of fact, Game gave me that verse so fast. I sent him the record, and he’s like, “Come to the studio” — and as I was driving up to the studio, he had it done already. Terrace did that s—t when he was in New York, because he was doing a Blue Note residency, and Channel Tres did his part at his studio in L.A. I don’t think I was there for that, but everything else I was there for.
When you was with George down in Tallahassee in the studio, what were you guys doing?
J.W.: Well, ‘m gonna be honest. I didn’t know what G was gonna think. Because, you know, when you take in somebody’s music that’s already theirs, and we weren’t changing too much of it. I was just happy that he liked what we did, and that we saw eye to eye, and he trusted me with the vision.
G.C.: When you got Compton and my nephew, there was nothing to think about. They came there together, so I knew it was righteous. It was something to do. They was working with “One Nation,” “Knee Deep.” Ain’t too much that can go wrong.
You narrated a couple tracks.
G.C.: They had me going over stuff and I’m showing off and s—t. I didn’t even know they was recording half of the time.
J.W.: That s—t was so cool. Like, imagine, man. These are G’s hit records, and I get to redo them with him. Come on, man. I don’t think anybody in music has been able to get the chance to get work with a legend on their catalog. When does that happen? I’m thinking it might be the first time in history that somebody was given a catalog and then got to go and do it with the originator. So, for me, it was amazing. It was a beautiful experience. We made great music and we had fun doing it, man. That time out in Tallahassee was just a good time, man. And I got to surprise G with Wyzard, and they got to catch up.
G.C.: Wyzard was my superhero from back in the ’70s. Mother’s Finest was all that. So, when he came in with him, he had credentials up the asshole. [Laughs.]
You got to jam out with Wyzard a little bit too?
G.C.: Oh, yeah. And he and I just did something a few years ago on Gangsters of Love with RZA and Red Hot Chili Peppers. He’s on “Ain’t That Peculiar,” Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson’s old song, Sly Stone is on that song too.
J.W.: The best hip-hop to me has always been the records that use those samples. I was a huge fan of Compton’s Most Wanted. If you really go back and listen to them, they might have been the first to just take a sample and not add anything to it, just straight loop.
Z.C.: Yeah, that Isaac Hayes joint.
J.W.: Exactly. And that’s kind of where a lot of my influence came from. I just like it pure like that, man. I’ve always liked to rap over beats that might not be considered rap beats. Not everything need need hard hitting drums and a big sound. I like to rap over different s—t like piano loops and guitar riffs and s—t like that.
What else do you have planned? You mentioned that you got an album with DJ Quik, a Terrace Martin album.
J.W.: So, I got me DJ Quick and Curren$y. You know me and Curren$y have the Umbrella Symphony. This album is similar to what George let me do. Quik let me take his instrumentals to make an album. All his grooves. So, yeah, that’s about to come out. Then me and Larry got another 2 P’z in a Pod. I got one with Conductor. I got one with Eyedress. I got one with Ty Dolla. I’m working, man.
G.C: You got one with me. Jay Worthy I got one with G, and we gonna keep this s—t going.
And George, you’re still out hustling and moving around, so what’s next for you?
G.C.: Well, I haven’t been able to put a name to it yet, but it’s definitely explosive. It’s definitely gonna blow any minute, and take my word for when I say it’s gonna be different and powerful as anything we’ve ever done. I can’t even begin to describe it. It would take a minute and then you wouldn’t be able to believe it when until you hear all of this stuff we’ve got.
And just remember: it’s gonna be like that. Matter of fact, I’m talking s—t. That’s what I’m really trying to say. I don’t do that well. I don’t boast well, but I’m really calling myself, “Talking S—t,” because I believe that I got “the s—t.”
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