Funk is an off-shoot of soul music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Its main characteristics are syncopated bass, punchy horns, strong percussion, jazz influences, and a choked style of guitar that includes "dead" notes. Generally, there aren't instrumental solos in funk music and the main material is one or two catchy riffs. James Brown's Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (1965) is often cited as the first funk song and he continued along the same lines with Cold Sweat (1967) and Say it Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud (1968). Other groups quickly followed including Dyke and the Blazers, Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street  Rhythm Band, and the Meters. In the 1970s funk exploded with dozens of bands creating grooves that were sometimes mellow but more often gritty. Funk music was often prominent in the so-called Blaxploitation films of this period like Shaft and Superfly.

Some other notable funk artists include George Clinton, Curtis Mayfield, the O' Jays, the Commodores, the Isley Brothers, Tower of Power, Rufus, Rick James, Earth Wind and Fire, and War.

For some great examples of funk grooves listen to Slippin' into Darkness by War, I'ts Your Thing by the Isley Brothers, and Brick House by the Commodores.