{"id":9399,"date":"2026-03-13T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/5-albums-i-cant-live-without-michael-hampton-of-parliament-funkadelic\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T12:00:00","slug":"5-albums-i-cant-live-without-michael-hampton-of-parliament-funkadelic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/5-albums-i-cant-live-without-michael-hampton-of-parliament-funkadelic\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Albums I Can\u2019t Live Without:\u00a0Michael Hampton of Parliament Funkadelic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2170747930.jpg\" width=\"1584\" height=\"1056\" alt=\"Michael Hampton performs onstage during the Fool in Love Festival at Hollywood Park Grounds on August 31, 2024, in Inglewood, California. (Credit: Scott Dudelson\/Getty Images)\"><figcaption>Michael Hampton performs onstage during the Fool in Love Festival at Hollywood Park Grounds on August 31, 2024, in Inglewood, California. (Credit: Scott Dudelson\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Name<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Michael Hampton a.k.a. Kidd Funkadelic<\/p>\n<p>More from Spin:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spinmagazine.com\/2026\/03\/bleachers-tour-opening-acts\/\">Bleachers Bringing Linda Lindas, American Football On Tour<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spinmagazine.com\/2026\/03\/flying-lotus-big-mama-review\/\">Flying Lotus Packs Big Excitement Into Brief \u2018Big Mama\u2019<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spinmagazine.com\/2026\/03\/ai-scales-info-irl-scales-trust\/\">AI Scales Info. IRL Scales Trust<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Best known for\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Joining Parliament Funkadelic at age 17, and over the past 50 years playing more than 5,000 shows in 400 cities across six continents with them, totaling over 10,000 hours on stage. I certainly didn\u2019t count all that up, a friend calculated it with AI help on the research. It\u2019s hard to grasp all that, but I can feel it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Current city:<\/strong>\u00a0Morrisville, PA<\/p>\n<p><strong>Really want to be in\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>I\u2019m plenty satisfied in this chair in my living room. But give it a few hours, I\u2019ll probably want to be back playing in Japan or Australia or somewhere. Maybe in Milan playing at the Olympics.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Excited about\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>The two albums I\u2019ve released since last summer (<em>LG350 Guitar, Into the Public Domain)<\/em>, and the two more new albums I\u2019ve already got in the bag (<em>King Kong, The Kidd)<\/em>. I\u2019m also pretty pumped for the studio sessions I\u2019ve got coming up with Joe \u201cThe Butcher\u201d Nicolo.<\/p>\n<p><strong>My current music collection has a lot of\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Kamasi Washington, The Weeknd, Sevendust, Django Reinhardt, Chimaira, Kiss, Cypress Hill,\u00a0\u00a0Led Zeppelin, Tower of Power, live Jimi Hendrix, Queen, Eric Gales.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And a little bit of\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Classical guitar, high-energy gospel, German electronic.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Preferred format<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0YouTube, because I still love learning new music, and on YouTube I can slow down videos to learn fast songs. First time I used YouTube though, something went wrong and it sounded like a record melting. I had heard records skip and lose speed before, but this sounded like ghosts swimming in lava or something. I thought I might be losing it, then I found out what buffering problems are. The internet won\u2019t last forever though, so I still collect CDs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<lite-youtube videoid=\"Ys9Gdnb2zdo\" style=\"bottom: 0; height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; width: 100%; max-width:100%;\"><\/lite-youtube>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-albums-i-can-t-live-without\"><strong><u>5 Albums I Can\u2019t Live Without:<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1\">1<\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-band-of-gypsys-jimi-hendrix\"><strong><em>Band of Gypsys<\/em>, Jimi Hendrix<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1290\" height=\"1236\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Band-of-Gypsys-Jimi-Hendrix_-1290x1236.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-655826\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Band-of-Gypsys-Jimi-Hendrix_-1290x1236.png 1290w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Band-of-Gypsys-Jimi-Hendrix_-340x326.png 340w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Band-of-Gypsys-Jimi-Hendrix_-768x736.png 768w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Band-of-Gypsys-Jimi-Hendrix_-498x477.png 498w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Band-of-Gypsys-Jimi-Hendrix_.png 1484w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\"><\/figure>\n<p><em>Band of Gypsys\u00a0<\/em>represents a real coming of age for me. I was almost a teenager when I bought it, starting to notice girls, feeling cool being good at baseball. It was the first Hendrix I ever encountered, and it completely evolved what I thought music could be. I had heard scratchy distortion before on Wilson Picket\u2019s \u201cEngine Number 9\u201d, but Jimi, no comparison, he took that sound to the moon. Me and my friends used to bang out hand drums on my father\u2019s car while listening to the album. We probably dented his hood up something serious while listening to \u201cWho Knows.\u201d People call\u00a0<em>Band of Gypsys<\/em>some of the earliest funk rock, which is a style I\u2019m told I helped to establish, so I must have learned some tricks studying it. When I first got a guitar it definitely pushed me to practice, and honestly, it still does.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2\">2<\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-greatest-hits-sly-amp-the-family-stone\"><strong><em>Greatest Hits<\/em>, Sly &amp; The Family Stone<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1290\" height=\"1231\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Greatest-Hits-Sly-the-Family-Stone-1290x1231.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-655824\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Greatest-Hits-Sly-the-Family-Stone-1290x1231.png 1290w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Greatest-Hits-Sly-the-Family-Stone-340x325.png 340w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Greatest-Hits-Sly-the-Family-Stone-768x733.png 768w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Greatest-Hits-Sly-the-Family-Stone-498x475.png 498w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Greatest-Hits-Sly-the-Family-Stone.png 1450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\"><\/figure>\n<p>Everything on here is total gold, but \u201cThank You\u00a0(Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)\u201d was a life-changer for me. I recall entering a house party the weekend the album came out, that track was playing, and suddenly, for the first time, I felt like I could actually dance. I wasn\u2019t afraid to get loose, I wasn\u2019t self-conscious anymore, you know? All due respect to the Holy Ghost, but that night, during that song, I felt something like the Ghost in me. I had been developing some early, weak version of the Robot dance alone in my room, I busted that out in front of everybody, and boy did I ever feel like the man. Those lyrics\u2014\u201cThank you for letting me be myself\u201d\u2014they totally represented my feelings. I went at it that night until my friends sat me down, a few times. Whenever I doubt myself, this album helps brings me back to trusting my instincts.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3\">3<\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-super-bad-james-brown\"><strong><em>Super Bad<\/em>, James Brown<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1290\" height=\"1290\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Super-Bad-James-Brown-1290x1290.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-655827\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Super-Bad-James-Brown-1290x1290.png 1290w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Super-Bad-James-Brown-340x340.png 340w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Super-Bad-James-Brown-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Super-Bad-James-Brown-498x498.png 498w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Super-Bad-James-Brown.png 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\"><\/figure>\n<p><em>Super Bad<\/em>\u00a0did for me what Sly\u2019s music did, but instead of simple confidence, it had me wanting my very own style that no one could replicate. I had no idea what James was singing about, what those grunts and noises meant, but that man wasn\u2019t asking any questions. I\u2019d put the album on and I\u2019d feel just as bold as him.\u00a0<em>Super Bad<\/em>\u00a0was also when I learned what \u201cbeing in the pocket\u201d means. At the time, I really couldn\u2019t describe what I was hearing, but the band wasn\u2019t just playing well, they were so locked-in the music seemed like it was playing itself. For those unfamiliar, the pocket is a sweet spot in the rhythm where players can lay back on the beat, and just ride a united groove with no effort. It\u2019s the key to funk really. It was so magical, the only reminder it was normal people playing was I could hear a foot pedal squeaking throughout the recording.\u00a0<em>Super Bad\u00a0<\/em>may be the pinnacle of funk for me, and probably will be until we\u2019re done on this physical plane.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4\">4<\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-free-your-mind-and-your-ass-will-follow-funkadelic\"><strong><em>Free Your Mind\u2026 and Your Ass Will Follow<\/em>, Funkadelic\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1272\" height=\"1230\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Free-Your-Mind.-and-Your-Ass-Will-Follow-Funkadelic-.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-655825\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Free-Your-Mind.-and-Your-Ass-Will-Follow-Funkadelic-.png 1272w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Free-Your-Mind.-and-Your-Ass-Will-Follow-Funkadelic--340x329.png 340w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Free-Your-Mind.-and-Your-Ass-Will-Follow-Funkadelic--768x743.png 768w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Free-Your-Mind.-and-Your-Ass-Will-Follow-Funkadelic--498x482.png 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1272px) 100vw, 1272px\"><\/figure>\n<p><em>Free Your Mind\u2026<\/em>\u00a0(1970) was when was when Funkadelic really started feeling one-of-a-kind to me, interdimensional if you will. The grooves on that self-titled album were amazing, but this album had a serious wow factor to it. Just how perfectly they used the effects, the studio edits, the mixing mastery. A song would start one way and build like a train gaining speed, then change up entirely, but still feel right on point. No matter what crazy stuff was happening, or where it ended, it all made sense. What Bernie Worrell was doing on keyboard and Eddie Hazel on guitar were big parts of that. They kept everything held together when things got way out there. If you\u2019d have told me back then I\u2019d be playing with those guys, I would have told you to see a doctor. This was the last Funkadelic album before I joined, and listening to it reminds me of the days right before my life adventure with them began.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5\">5<\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-meddle-pink-floyd\"><strong><em>Meddle<\/em>, Pink Floyd<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1270\" height=\"1234\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Meddle-Pink-Floyd.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-655823\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Meddle-Pink-Floyd.png 1270w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Meddle-Pink-Floyd-340x330.png 340w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Meddle-Pink-Floyd-768x746.png 768w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Meddle-Pink-Floyd-498x484.png 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1270px) 100vw, 1270px\"><\/figure>\n<p>My older brother turned me onto\u00a0<em>Meddle.<\/em>\u00a0I was around 11 years old, and it was some of the first music I\u2019d ever heard coming off of vinyl, so that was incredibly special. My mind couldn\u2019t process how the music was going from the vinyl to the needle to the speakers. Watching and hearing that happen was a wild enough experience, but listening to \u201cEchoes,\u201d the song that takes up the whole B-side, I kid you not, that was my first real psychedelic experience. I hadn\u2019t had my first drink yet, and I was truly tripping out. Around that time, I had been wondering what a studio looked like, and the effects on that song really sent my imagination spinning. I was really into sci-fi as a kid and it felt like it could be the soundtrack to a sci-fi movie. The A-side is great too. It\u2019s a perfect album to listen to in one sitting, and it was the first chilled-out, dreamy music that I really got into. It\u2019s still a cool one to throw on these days, forget the world, and just zone out.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2021\/07\/the-greatest-rock-stars-of-all-time\/?utm_source=yahoo&amp;utm_medium=bottomlink&amp;utm_campaign=yahoolink\">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Hampton performs onstage during the Fool in Love Festival at Hollywood Park Grounds on August 31, 2024, in Inglewood, California. (Credit: Scott Dudelson\/Getty Images) Name\u00a0\u00a0Michael Hampton a.k.a. Kidd Funkadelic&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[262,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-5-albums-i-cant-live-without","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9399\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}