''Zapp'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the American

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

band Zapp, released on July 30, 1980 by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. The album's style and sound bears a striking resemblance to

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive fu ...

, as the band was working with and being mentored by P-Funk members William Earl "Bootsy" Collins and George Clinton during the album's production. The album was produced by Zapp frontman

Roger Troutman Roger Troutman (November 29, 1951 – April 25, 1999), also known as Roger, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and the founder of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the funk movement and heavily influenc ...

along with funk musician Bootsy Collins. The Troutman family of the Zapp band had close ties with the Collins family, both being Ohio natives. This friendship proved instrumental in Zapp gaining a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1979. ''Zapp'' was recorded between late 1979 and early 1980 at the United Sound Studios in Detroit, Michigan, of which Parliament-Funkadelic frequented. The album reached #1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot R&B tracks chart for 2 weeks in fall 1980. The album has been cited as one of the definitive albums of early 1980s

electro funk Electro (or electro- funk)Rap meets ...

, bringing the genre to mainstream attention. The album has also served as a partial source toward the creation of the

G-funk G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the late 1980s. The genre is heavily influenced by 1970s psychedelic funk (P-funk) sound of artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic. Characte ...

sound of hip hop music, which became popular on the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

during the early and mid 1990s. ''Zapp'' was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) in November 1980.

Background and recording

During the late 1970s, Zapp was noticed by two longstanding friends of the Troutman family,

Phelps "Catfish" Collins Phelps "Catfish" Collins (October 17, 1943 – August 6, 2010) was an American musician. A lead guitarist and rhythm guitarist, he is known mostly for his work in the P-Funk collective. Although frequently overshadowed by his younger brother, ...

and William Earl "Bootsy" Collins, both of whom were members of Parliament-Funkadelic since the early 1970s. Earlier, Roger Troutman and his brothers played frequently in the Ohio area, originally forming the band "Roger and His Fabulous Vels" in 1966. Impressed with Zapp's musical abilities upon seeing their live performance, Catfish and Bootsy invited Zapp to visit Detroit's United Sound Studios, where they went on to write and record the demo for "

More Bounce to the Ounce "More Bounce to the Ounce" is the debut single by American funk band Zapp. It is the opening track on their eponymous debut album and serves as the album's first single. The song was written, arranged, composed and produced by Roger Troutman; ...

," which would later appear on the debut album. Parliament-Funkadelic front-man George Clinton encouraged the band to present the demo tape to Warner Bros. Records, which ultimately led to the band's signing to the label in early 1979. The full album was ultimately recorded in the same studio between late 1979 and early 1980 and was released on July 28, 1980 under the Warner Bros. label. Zapp was produced by both Roger Troutman and Bootsy Collins, who also provided the guitar work for the album.

In popular culture

"More Bounce to the Ounce" is featured in the films ''

Boyz n the Hood ''Boyz n the Hood'' is a 1991 American coming-of-age hood drama film written and directed by John Singleton in his feature directorial debut. It stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut, Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Nia Long, Regina King, and An ...

'', ''

Mi Vida Loca ''Mi Vida Loca'' (also known as ''My Crazy Life'') is a 1993 American drama film directed and written by Allison Anders. It centers on the plight of cholas (the female counterparts to cholos) growing up in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles, w ...

'', ''

Losing Isaiah ''Losing Isaiah'' is a 1995 American drama film starring Jessica Lange and Halle Berry, directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal. It is based on the novel of the same name by Seth Margolis. The screenplay is written by Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal. The original ...

'', ''

Hate Hatred is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Hatred is s ...

'', ''

Any Given Sunday ''Any Given Sunday'' is a 1999 American sports drama film directed by Oliver Stone depicting a fictional professional American football team. The film features an ensemble cast, including Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, Jamie Foxx, James ...

'' , '' Blue Hill Avenue'' and Straight Outta Compton the 2002

Rockstar Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to: Films * ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg * ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali * ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...

video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' and the 2018 ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'' episode " A Boy and a Priest". It was also in an episode of "New Girl" (Season 4, episode 20).

Track listing

All songs written by Roger Troutman Side one: #"

" – 9:25 #"Freedom" – 3:48 #"Brand New Player" – 5:51 Side two: #"Funky Bounce" – 6:46 #" Be Alright" – 7:52 #"Coming Home" – 6:34

Chart performance

In 1980, "More Bounce To the Ounce" went to number 2 on the US Black singles chart and the self-titled album went straight to number one on the US Black albums chart also in 1980.

Certifications

Personnel

*vocals - Bobby Glover, Jannetta Boyce, Marchelle Smith, Delores Smith *percussion - Larry and Lester Troutman *conga drums -

Larry Troutman Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

*trapp drums - Lester Troutman *bass, vocals - Terry Troutman *sax - Carl Cowen *keyboards, vocals - Greg Jackson *guitars -

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading n ...

*guitars, vocals, keyboards, talk box, bass, harmonica, vibraphone -

Album Cover Art by Ronald P'"Stozo" Edwards and

Overton Loyd Overton Loyd (born April 20, 1954) is an American artist best known for creating the cover art for the Parliament album ''Motor Booty Affair'' and several other records. His style of art varies often from work to work, and can range from loose sk ...

Background and recording

In popular culture

Track listing

Chart performance

Certifications

Personnel

See also

References

Further reading