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Music Matters with Darrell Craig Harris

Funkadelic's Michael "Kidd" Hampton on 50 Years of Funk

Music Matters with Darrell Craig Harris

Darrell Craig Harris

Music Interviews, Music, Music Commentary

4.6107 Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

About Michael Hampton  After studying jazz guitar in high school, an impromptu backstage audition for George Clinton in 1974 earned 17-year-old Michael a seat on the Parliament mothership alongside the immortal Eddie Hazel, under the name "Kidd Funkadelic". Hampton has spent the past half-century playing nearly 400 shows with the band, in 25 countries across 6 continents. Highlights include multiple appearances at world-renowned festivals like Montreux Jazz, Glastonbury, Reading, Woodstock '99, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Roskilde, Lollapalooza, Fuji Rock, and Isle of Wight, and venues like the Apollo Theater, The Fillmore, Royal Albert Hall, Madison Square Garden, The Troubadour, Red Rocks, The Beacon, and Sydney Opera House. Among Hampton's Funkadelic writing credits are group staples like "Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock?!" and "Funk Gets Stronger", both released during the group's late-'70s/early-80s hit run. His lead guitar is also embedded in the DNA of 90s hip-hop's G-Funk movement-Dr. Dre's "Let Me Ride" samples Parliament's "Mothership Connection", Ice Cube's "Bop Gun" borrows elements of Funkadelic's "One Nation Under a Groove" Michael's latest album "Into the Public Domain" is available now on all streaming outlets.  Social Media: www.Instagram.com/michaelwhampton www.youtube.com/@MaWaHa Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2Je4BDRuE01NHCoWlw5hG9?si=pECMNHHxT6-tUONc9pbi-g  About Music Matters with Darrell Craig Harris The Music Matters Podcast is hosted by Darrell Craig Harris, a globally published music journalist, professional musician, and Getty Images photographer. Music Matters is now available on Spotify, iTunes, Podbean, and more. Each week, Darrell interviews renowned artists, musicians, music journalists, and insiders from the music industry. Visit us at: www.MusicMattersPodcast.comFollow us on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/musicmattersdh For inquiries, contact: musicmatterspodcastshow@gmail.com Support our mission via PayPal: www.paypal.me/payDarrell  voice over intro by Nigel J. Farmer

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to Music Matters podcast with Daryl Craig Harris,

0:07.1

talking about all things music with celebrities, artists, music business insiders, and more.

0:20.4

Michael Hampton, How you doing today?

0:22.9

Great, great. My funky and stuff.

0:25.7

You're looking fucking, your fucking guitar right next to you?

0:28.5

Yeah, yeah. I was like, just follow me.

0:33.7

It's like, stay in bed, you know.

0:37.0

Yeah, it's like attached to you, right?

0:39.0

Right, for sure, sure.

0:40.5

Hey, so you have such an interesting story.

0:43.1

You're a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

0:46.5

You played with George Clinton, Parliament Funkadelic, for many decades.

0:53.4

You've co-written a lot of their biggest hits and written a lot of music for other people

0:58.0

as well.

0:59.4

Man, you have such interesting story.

1:00.8

How did you get started with music and also?

1:04.1

How old were you when you got with George?

1:07.0

I was 17.

1:08.6

If you could just back up just a little bit.

1:10.6

Yeah.

1:15.0

I mean, I didn't write a whole lot of lyrics and stuff like that. I did mostly overdose. When I first started, I did stretching out, the session

1:23.0

stretching out. And I think Be Ma Beach was the same day or night, you know, that I recorded.

...

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