The Minneapolis Sound

Electro-Funk Gems

What’s in a sound?

The fusion of elements that characterised Minneapolis funk in the 1980s & beyond was as diverse & eclectic as its origins.

Often referred to as a sub-genre of funk rock, it’s a synth-heavy electro funk characterised by driving bass lines, highly processed instruments - especially drums - new wave pop sensibilities, aggressive lead guitars & punk solos.

Prince was its bellwether & synonym - the launch of his debut album Dirty Mind in 1980 paved the way & by the time this incredibly talented - & crucially - prolific artist released Purple Rain in 1984, so-called pornographic funk had gone global, setting the stage for a sonic & stylistic pre-eminence that seeded much of early 1990s New Jack Swing & subsequent iterations.

Rolling Stone described Prince’s debut as ‘one of the most radical 180 degree turns in pop history’ & the potent mix of androgynous aesthetic & sexual lyrics he unleashed combined to capture the collective imagination of the early MTV generation.

But the roots of The Sound reach far deeper into the city of Minneapolis, to a Community Center called The Way, created after racial tension in north Minneapolis - a place known for its diverse minorities - erupted in civil unrest during 1967’s ‘long hot summer.’

The Way was a hub for local arts & music, where Northside talent such as Prince, Terry Lewis, Morris Day, & André Cymone used the instruments provided by the center to hone their skills, whilst kicking it with the likes of R&B veteran Pierre Lewis & jazz player Sonny Thompson.

House band The Family provided a steady stream of Soul, Funk & R&B to form the basis of a nascent education these kids took to the streets - battling other bands throughout the city.

There were Blues, Gospel & Jazz traditions in Minneapolis, alongside the polkas of European settlers to the Dinkytown folk music circuit that launched the career of Bob Dylan - a white/black fusion emblematic of Minnesota’s north/south divide.

Funk bands created the black music scene in the state, but because there was only a small African-American community they’d play an eclectic mix of Folk, Rock N Roll & Pop.

These influences merged on Dirty Mind.

Princes first album wasn’t a major success sales-wise but paved the way for a group he put together in 1981, called The Time.

The Time, originally composed of lead singer Morris Day - who only got the role when Alexander O’Neal was, as he described it ‘kicked out of the purple regime’ after a fall-out with its creator - drummer Jelly Bean, André Cymone, Jimmy ‘Jam’ & Terry Lewis & guitarist Jesse Johnson, became the genesis for the Minneapolis Sound to really take root in the industry.

Time made a star out of lead singer Morris Day, who had previously been part of a band called Grand Central with Prince & André Cymone.

You can hear all the hallmarks of The Sound - funky, danceable, highly processed & synthesiser-rich - in their hit, ‘Get it Up’.

The artists involved in the The Time make them an iconic group, but despite several hits they never really attained super stardom, & broke up before reaching their potential.

It was the departure of future Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Jimmy ‘Jam’ & Terry Lewis in 1983 that instigated their demise.

Though the split was not their idea - Prince was unhappy they’d started working with the S.O.S band.

And duly sacked them.

Jimmy Jam told the story to Nile Rodgers on his Deep Hidden Meaning podcast in 2022:

Just Be Good To Me was the pivotal moment in our career. We were on tour with The Time, we went down to San Antonio Texas, we got down, we record the songs (with S.O.S). But a snow storm shut the whole airport down in Atalanta, and we subsequently missed the next Time gig.

That summer Prince called us to the studio, it happened to be the same night we had a session with S.O.S band, to mix. So when we got to the studio, it was Prince, Morris, Jesse and Terry and myself, and he said: ‘I told you guys not to produce outside acts, and you did, so you’re fired.’

We were like ‘oh’. So when we walk out the studio Terry says, well, what do you wanna do? I said - ‘let’s go mix the S.O.S band’ as it was next door. So we walk in the studio and the engineer was a guy named Steve Hodge & he said ‘why do you guys look so down?’ I said ‘well we just got fired from the Time’. He said ‘you did?’ And he said ‘well, I don’t think you have anything to worry about, becaue this one here (Just Be Good To Me), this is a smash.

Under the moniker Flyte Time Productions, Jam & Lewis went on to evolve this rare blend of musical elements through the hits of a diverse range of artists, including Cherrelle, Alexander O’Neal & Janet Jackson.

O’Neal, who had relocated to Minneapolis at the age of 20, got his first Gold record working with Flyte Tyme, & you can hear the influence of the City & his producers all over his music.

The bass to ‘Fake’ is pure Minneapolis.

But it was really their work with Janet Jackson that not only catapulted Jam & Lewis into the Grammy-winning limelight, but ensured The Sound really took on a life of its own in the industry.

Her first album Control is drenched in all the stylistic hallmarks of the duo’s origins.

Minneapolis went platinum - while Jam & Lewis went on to become one of the most succesful songwriting & producing duos of all time.

Meanwhile, the collective solo careers of the original Time participants, as well as Prince’s runaway success, meant the sub-genre infiltrated the industry in ever more divergent ways, eventually taking its place next to Motown in the pantheon.

André Cymone, who’d also quit the Time in 1981 after tension with Prince (I get the impression he may have been a difficult character to work with) continued the fusion of new wave & funk, releasing three solo albums – Livin' In The New Wave, Survivin' in the 80s, & AC.

‘The Dance Electric’ from AC, written by Prince, was the only song to garner any real success, but the music deserved more attention - especially tracks like ‘On Your Back’.

Jesse Johnson, lead guitarist of The Time, was another who signed his own solo deal with A&M Records in 1984, achieving modest fame with albums Jesse Johnson’s Revue, Shockadelica, & Every Shade of Love, which featured certified bangers like ‘Lovestruck’.

But despite bearing the hallmarks of the sound that united them, none of them came anywhere close to matching the cultural assault waged by a certain flamboyant multi-instrumentalist with a wailing falsetto & high pitched scream.

Even bands like The Jets - a group from Tonga localised by former Stevie Wonder manager, & Minneapolis car salesman, Don Powell - whose success with songs like ‘Crush On You’ incorporated the synthesised funk of the city, couldn’t match the purple one’s prestige.

According to The Time drummer, Jellybean, tracks like ‘Lady Cab Driver’ from the album 1999 perfectly encapsulate the essence of Minneapolis Sound.

Prince is an icon, one you can’t seprate from his past, from his time, or even a place - the legacy of the First Avenue Club, where he filmed the video for Purple Rain & experimented with new music next door to punk outfits like Dusker Do & the Replacements, laid the foundations for everything that was to come.

A unique fusion of genres that helped break down barriers & bring people together in the name of having a good time & expressing themselves.

What’s in a sound?

The soul of a city.

And the genius of one man.