Zapp – I

Zapp (also known as the Zapp Band or Zapp and Roger) is undoubtedly the most influential group in the Electro sub-genre of Funk. The group received attention in the early 1980s for implementing heavy use of the talk-box, which became one of their most well known characteristics. Zapp served as partial inspiration toward the creation of the G-Funk sound of Hip Hop popular on the West Coast of the United States in the early to mid 1990s, with many of their songs sampled by numerous Hip Hop artists, most notably Dr. Dre.

The original line-up consisted of four brothers—Roger Troutman, Larry Troutman, Lester Troutman and Terry Troutman—and non-Troutman family members Bobby Glover and Gregory Jackson. During their early stages, they worked closely with members George Clinton and Bootsy Collins of the seminal Funkateers of Parliament-Funkadelic. Their debut album I was released in 1980, having a P-funk reminiscent sound as a result of Clinton’s and Collin’s input on the production.

Zapp achieved most of its mainstream recognition from the single “More Bounce To The Ounce” from the same album, now widely regarded as a classic example of early 1980s electronic Funk. The single propelled the album to Gold status almost overnight.