George Clinton is a true pioneer of black music artists in music history. A trailblazer of funk music, George Clinton has inspired many with his eccentric style and innovative sound, being sampled by and working directly with countless hip-hop artists throughout his career. 

The Parliament-Funkadelic frontman has expressed his appreciation for hip-hop music and the genre gravitating to his records for inspiration. In an interview with VladTV earlier this year, Clinton said he was “proud” that artists like Dr. Dre and Public Enemy sampled his music. 

“{The Chronic} had a lot of P-Funk, that was like the mothership album of hip-hop,” he says when asked about Dr. Dre. “ I’m proud of [The Chronic], Public Enemy, N.W.A, Eric Sermon, Digital Underground, they did a lot of Funk,” he said. “But Dre and ‘em did the West Coast version of P-Funk.” 

A video of George Clinton reciting Eric B and Rakim’s “Follow The Leader,” word for word surfaced on Twitter to the delight of many classic hip-hop fans. The Encyclopedia Hip-Hop Podcast posted the clip to their Twitter account, saying, “Father of Funk George Clinton reciting @EricBandRakim lyrics is mind blowing content.” 

The clip is a truly inspiring testament that hip-hop is a true staple of black music and expression, translating to many different generations and cultures.