Singled Out: Billy Ray Rock's Get the Funk

Billy Ray Rock recently released his new single "Get The Funk" and to celebrate we asked him to tell us the story behind the track. Here is the story:

This song was almost 25 years in the making! I have spent a ton of years listening to funk music and watching artists and the public ignore Funk music. I desperately always wanted to do a funky track but as the trends went from Gangsta rap to EDM to trap etc. I felt as any artist would feel that if I did a funk track I would be outcast as an artist that does "dated music" also I wanted to sing on the track and for years there were no R&B dance tracks, any danceable song was a rap song. enter Bruno Mars. After he opened the door for funk music again I so wanted to take a swing at what was already in my DNA.

I am a multi-genre artist. I do rock EDM and of course R & B. But I have not had a chance to do funk since forever. I have an older brother who is the reason I'm even in music. I used to listen to him practice for hours in the back room of our poverty-stricken house as a kid. It was then that I learned to play bass guitar and about nine other instruments. I have always wanted to do a song amazingly with the many songs and genres I have done through the years we never hooked up. This mostly because I never felt that I was worthy as he was and still is my hero in music. My brother Freddy is also deep into his faith as well.

So, I knew to get him to drop a sax solo in this song it would have to be void of any sexual stuff, or swearing etc. So, I wrote "Get the Funk" recorded it. I had my brother Freddy drop his solo remotely in part because of the coronavirus.

I wanted to include as many of my childhood favorite funk and R & B bands as possible. So lyrically I mention groups from Slave to Confunkshon etc. I wanted people who hear this song who know the history of funk music to appreciate hearing the names of those artists before me.

I put it together and had my brother drop his solo and the rest is history.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about Billy here

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