Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)

Originally the single was released with the title reversed, as "Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)." It was written by Parliament members Jerome Brailey, George Clinton, and Bootsy Collins. It is certainly one of the most famous songs from, if not the definitive example of, the P-Funk genre. In fact, we get the term "p-funk" from the collective Parliament-Funkadelic, managed by George Clinton. A few dozen other groups have since followed suit within this genre they invented.

"Give Up The Funk" uses a jazz construction, beginning with three themes introduced and explored separately which are then woven together. Ray Davis raps "tear the roof off the sucker" at the beginning. Throughout the song, interaction is heard between bass, drums, vocals, and synthesizers. An ensemble sound is achieved with only a few parts.

Ever been to a George Clinton/P-Funk concert? You'll hear the phrase "Give up the funk" sometimes hundreds of times, starting with the crowd imploring the band to take the stage (shows rarely start on time, and the concertgoers can get quite worked up). Throughout the show, a few sayings will be repeated over and over, including the two mentioned in this song's title, and other classics like "turn this mother out." It can be quite a spiritual and communal experience, and this song is often the centerpiece. These types of chants are often heard in kirtans, where Hindu mantras are repeated over and over in a quest for enlightenment. What's going on in the P-Funk world is more based on church music, but serves the same purpose, but Clinton points out that you have to be careful with them. "The chants are like church grooves that get you in that state where you're receptive to opening up your mind and coming up with positive things," he told Songfacts. "At the same time, you have to be careful that somebody doesn't program you. You have to do it consciously, knowing that you're opening yourself up and people can program you when you open up like that. So, that's why we do a lot of nonsensical stuff that's just fun."