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===Origin of funk===
[[Category:Slang]]
The word "funk", once defined in dictionaries as body odor or the smell of sexual intercourse, commonly has been regarded as coarse or indecent. African-American musicians originally applied "funk" to music with a slow, mellow groove, then later with a hard-driving, insistent rhythm because of the word's association with sexual intercourse. This early form of the music set the pattern for later musicians. The music was slow, sexy, loose, [[riff]]-oriented and danceable. ''Funky'' typically described these qualities. In jam sessions, musicians would encourage one another to "get down" by telling one another, "Now, put some ''stank'' ('stink'/funk) on it!" At least as early as the 1930s, [[jazz]] songs carried titles such as [[Mezz Mezzrow]]'s ''Funky Butt.''
The word "funk" commonly was regarded as coarse or indecent. As late as the 1950s and early 1960s, when "funk" and "funky" were used increasingly in the context of soul music, the terms still were considered indelicate and inappropriate for use in polite company.
The distinctive characteristics of African-American musical expression are rooted in [[West Africa West African]] musical traditions, and find their earliest expression in spirituals, work chants/songs, praise shouts, gospel and blues. In more contemporary music, gospel, blues and blues extensions often flow together seamlessly. Funky music is an amalgam of [[soul music]] [[soul jazz]] and [[R&B]].
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