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Childish Gambino‘s funk odyssey Awaken, My Love! has been stamped by P-funk originator George Clinton.

From the sound down to the album cover, Childish Gambino’s latest album has been getting comparisons to early Funkadelic work. Other ears have heard everything from Prince to Outkast sprinkled in there, while the videos and performances we’ve seen from it remind you of Earth, Wind and Fire.

Where some have said that Gambino’s funk is nothing more than a diluted version of the raw uncut, one of the pioneers of funk as we know it has nothing but positive things to say about the new project.

In an interview with HipHopDX, George Clinton revealed that he’s sat down to listen to the album once and liked what he heard.

Clinton tells DX:

“I just heard it [Awaken, My Love] one time and I like the songs. I’m aware of his music and know he’s into P-Funk so I know it’s going to be some good music. I haven’t had a chance to get all the way into it. When I did hear it, it sounded like a cross between P-Funk and Prince influence. I’m proud that he’s into the funk and glad him and others are bringing some new funk back.”

Aside from fellow funk pioneer James Brown, Clinton’s work is perhaps the most sampled and borrowed from in Hip-Hop. P-funk’s popularity rose in the 70s and tapered off in the 80s, but was given new life in the 90s thanks to mainly West Coast producers taking bits and pieces of his sounds, most notably Dr. Dre.

Fast forward 25 years later, Clinton’s influence is being celebrated again thanks to albums like Awaken, My Love! Clinton is still active though. In 2014 Funkadelic dropped a triple album titled First Ya Gotta Shake The Gate that featured a host of vocalists and musicians including Scarface who is credited as a guitarist on the album. There was also a remix to the single “Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You” that featured Kendrick Lamar and Ice Cube.

Clinton is currently in the studio with Flying Lotus working on his next album that will be released on Brainfeeder Records.

Photo: WENN.com