Moods: Funky

This station features the rawest, most essential funk jams with deep bass grooves, tight drumming, and downright dirty horn parts. The perfect soundtrack for tearing the roof off that sucka!

In the 1970s a new genre of music emerged from Nigeria called afrobeat. Created by the legendary bandleader Fela Kuti, afrobeat combined funk, jazz and psychedelic rock with West African highlife music and politically-charged lyrics.

This playlist encapsulates the entire career of "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business," from his earliest influences to the artists that have followed in his funky, funky footsteps.

James Brown is the most sampled artist in all of hip hop. Here are some of the best rap songs to build their funky beat on the back of the Godfather of Soul.

A collection of R&B, pop, and hip hop classics -- including forgotten gems -- from the '70s, '80s and '90s that is guaranteed to get any party movin’.

Listen to this mix of today's sexiest electronic and R&B rhythms, both underground and popular.

Listen to essential songs recorded by and featuring Rick James as well as his greatest influences, contemporaries, and followers.

Explore the foundations of gangsta rap's G-Funk sub-genre, from P-Funk and vintage '70s blaxploitation soundtracks to vocoderized '80s electro-funk.

All of the vintage records sampled by the visionary '90s hip hop collective.

Known for its distinctive vintage sound and house band, Daptone Records has become one of the world's premier independent record labels. Listen to highlights of the best soul, funk, gospel and afrobeat released by this Brooklyn-based label.

Funk, R&B and jazz-funk with an emphasis on atmospheric sounds, synth solos and psychedelic moods.

Sassy, sexy and soulful, these are the essential anthems by the all-female R&B groups that dominated the '90s pop charts. Scrubs are, naturally, not welcome.

Building upon the wealth of '90s R&B artists who perfected the modern slow jam, R&B artists in the '00s added their own synthetic flourishes to rhythms that bluntly force you to get down.

Soul music re-emerged and took on many forms throughout the 90's and 00's, often referred to as "Neo Soul" or "Soul Revival." Listen to the greatest songs from the women that captured that spirit.

Turn the bass way up for this collection of funky tracks by legendary hip-hop producer J Dilla.

A collection of music created by and/or featuring members of the Atlanta, Georgia based Hip-Hop/R&B/Soul musical collective, the Dungeon Family. Most notable members include Outkast, Goodie Mob, and Organized Noize Productions.

Funky and atmospheric instrumental works from the masters of trip hop, one of the hippest underground movements to emerge in the '90s.

Coined in the early '90s, neo-soul describes the fusion of soul and contemporary R&B. While following the tradition of classic soul, neo-soul artists frequently incorporate elements of jazz, funk and hip hop into their music.

Get down with these soul and R&B classics -- most of which are about food -- at your next barbecue.

Nate Dogg was one of the best hook singers in the history of hip hop. This playlist highlights the best collaborations from his legendary career.

Bravado tell-it-like-it-is soul and funk jams celebrating self-reliance, self-confidence, and self-respect. Right on, sisters and brothers!

Delicious Vinyl is the original west coast label from the golden age of hip-hop. From Young MC to J Dilla to The Brand New Heavies, Delicious Vinyl was on the forefront of rap and R&B and continues releasing great tracks from artist like Illa J, Chop Black and Frank Nitt.

As a freshman, Derek Smith left college to focus on music production full-time. Today, as Pretty Lights, Smith runs his own record label and is headlining festivals around the country. Listen to the best tracks from Pretty Lights and his contemporaries.

Tailor-made for a summertime block party, this collection of rap classics is also perfect for relaxing by the pool or cruising top-down in a convertible. Play it loud.

Home to The Swampers, one of the greatest house bands in American R&B history, Muscle Shoals Studio in Alabama remains the go-to destination for artists seeking that iconic, soulful sound. These are the essential songs recorded there.

Early rap hits from the days when all a rapper needed was two turntables and a microphone.

Up-tempo funk grooves, danceable R&B, soulful divas, and deep DJ cuts of the ‘70s and early-'80s.

Post-punk artists who felt the funk, from both the U.S. (Liquid Liquid) and the U.K. (Gang of Four).

This playlist takes you back to an idyllic '70s pool party where the bathing suits were as small as the sunglasses were big and Stealers Wheel was blasting out of the poolside AM and funky disco gems were spinning inside on the HiFi.

Whether it's a diva calling for some rhymes to spark up a remix or a hip-hopper adding some old-school sweetness to a bangin' track, these are the most authentic cross-genre collaborations ever recorded.

Who loves the reefer? Throughout the history of hip-hop, rappers have extolled the virtues of weed. Dig.

An offshoot of hard bop that flourished in the '60s and early '70s, soul jazz fed on the bluesy passion of R&B. Most associated with hard-driving organ trios and honking, bluesy horns, it's jazz with groove, grit and soul.

Rediscover fun, upbeat electronic music from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, built on dancefloor-ready breakbeats, clever loops and lots of vocal samples. Check it out now, my funk soul brothas.

Along with fellow heavy hitters DJ Premiere and RZA, Pete Rock helped to define the soulful, sample-based sound of '90s East Coast rap. Here is Pete Rock's oeuvre; from his work with CL Smooth to the hits he produced for Biggie, Common, and others.

Hip hop started with the DJ. From the original turntable stylists of the late '70s and early '80s until now, we big up the art of DJing while tracing the evolution of turntablism.

New Jack Swing defined the urban music scene as the '80s became the '90s and R&B met hip-hop. Rediscover this era of sweet harmonies with a hint of swagger and unlimited style.

Hip-hop producers DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip and Large Professor helped make Nas's Illmatic a '90s hip-hop classic. Explore the best of the quartet's other work from the same era.

Atmospheric and ambient, this is the sound of hip hop producers left to their own devices. Without any vocal assists from rappers, the results are innovative, expressive, and sometimes more than a little trippy.

Strictly the grooviest soul and funk tracks from the blaxploitation era of the '70s. Think pimps, macks, ghetto street life and big ol' Cadillacs.

Emerging as an antidote to the glitzy-jiggy rap scene of the late '90s, underground artists started putting out uncompromising hip-hop on small independent labels. Look back on a sometimes underappreciated scene.

An intimate experience with some of rap's most compelling introspective and philosophical songs.

This playlist tells the story of the King of Pop as it plays out on the dancefloor -- from his closest contemporaries in the late '70s disco scene to those who follow, bravely, in his mesmerizing footsteps.

Since her early teens, Brandy has been working hard, multi-tasking as a professional singer and actress. These are the best soulful r&b songs that she recommends for unwinding after a long day. Request songs at: http://on.fb.me/HYcoqc

Bust out that old bottle of activator and keep your curl moisturized while getting down to this batch of funky jams from the early '80s. Brought to you by DJ Brainchild.

As its new, diverse, and endlessly exciting sounds drew inspiration from across the musical spectrum, R&B came to define American mainstream music in the '90s. Here are the key tracks from R&B's most vital decade.

Daytime disco, house, and R&B for drinking and dancing by the pool with friends and beautiful strangers.

'80-'87 Prince, Prince's side projects and protégés, and Prince's influences and like-minded contemporaries at their most Prince-esque, all swirled in a dirty electro-funky grind and insert double entendre here. Purple.

Enter the cool, classy universe of Sade, one of the 1980s' most singular song stylists. Along with her mellow, jazz-kissed sound, enjoy the music of her precedents, disciples, and other artists who flew the flag of subtle-but-sizzling soul.