In The Funk, pop culture commentator, San Sharma draws parallels between changes in American society and consciousness and the emergence of funk music. He provides a detailed study of the theory and aesthetics of this musical genre through a loving analysis of the work and careers of James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone and George Clinton, and demonstrates a relationship between Ôblack popÕ and politics, how and why this association occurs, and the employment, if at all, by each other.