Funky Friday – Episode 88: Twin Cities Funk
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Airdate: 10.9.26 - 9 AM Pacific Time on KDOG & 9 PM Pacific Time on KCSM HD2
Funky Friday – Episode 88: Twin Cities Funk
This week, Episode 88 of Funky Friday continues our city tour with a trip to Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; two cities whose musicians helped reshape the sound of funk, R&B, and popular music.
When people think of the Minneapolis Sound, one name usually comes to mind.
Prince.
And for good reason.
But before Prince became an international superstar, there was already a thriving Black music community in the Twin Cities. Young musicians were forming bands, competing for audiences, borrowing ideas from their heroes, and developing something that would eventually reach far beyond Minnesota.
This week's episode is about that community.
And what came out of it.
In the early 1970s, teenage musicians were finding their footing in bands like Grand Central and Flyte Tyme.
Grand Central brought together Prince, André Cymone, and Morris Day. Flyte Tyme included musicians who would help shape the next generation of funk and R&B, including Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and Jellybean Johnson.
These weren't isolated musicians waiting for someone to discover them.
They were part of a scene.
And they were listening.
Sly & The Family Stone. Graham Central Station. Carlos Santana. Jimi Hendrix. Tower of Power.
The influences were everywhere, but what happened when those influences reached Minneapolis was something different.
Morris Day, who would eventually become the charismatic frontman of The Time, started out behind the drums. He has recalled studying David Garibaldi's playing with Tower of Power, particularly songs like “What Is Hip?” and “Soul Vaccination.”
That connection becomes one of this week's most revealing musical discoveries.
Tower of Power built its funk around an explosive rhythm section and a powerful horn section. But in Minneapolis, young musicians began experimenting with a different approach.
Synthesizers took on roles traditionally played by horns. Drum machines introduced new rhythmic possibilities. Bass, guitar, keyboards, and electronic percussion came together in arrangements that could sound remarkably spare while still hitting hard.
The groove was changing.
You can hear that transformation in The Time's “777-9311,” where the rhythmic influence of Garibaldi's playing found its way into the electronic vocabulary of the Minneapolis Sound.
And you can hear another side of that emerging identity in Prince's “Head,” where the arrangement leaves plenty of room for the rhythm to do the talking.
But the story doesn't end with Prince.
Jesse Johnson helped bring his own guitar-driven personality to the sound. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis carried their Minneapolis roots into a production career that would transform contemporary R&B, including their work with Cherrelle on “I Didn't Mean to Turn You On.”
What began in local bands had become an international musical influence.
And some of those original musicians are still pushing forward.
André Cymone, one of Prince's earliest collaborators and a founding figure in the Grand Central story, released The Resurrection of Funk in August 2026. This week's episode features “The Girl Next Door,” a reminder that the musicians who helped build this sound are still making music on their own terms.
We begin with The Time's “Jungle Love,” travel backward to explore the musical influences that helped shape the scene, and follow the sound forward as it spreads around the world.
Along the way, we'll hear from Morris Day himself in this week's Signal Discovery.
Because the Minneapolis Sound didn't emerge from nowhere.
It grew out of friendships, rivalries, neighborhood bands, musical experimentation, and a generation of young artists determined to make something of their own.
Two cities. One extraordinary musical community.
And a sound that changed popular music.
I'm Noah McDonough.
Welcome to Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Welcome to Twin Cities Funk.
Signal Discovery
Signal Discovery: Morris Day and the Roots of the Minneapolis Sound
This week's Signal Discovery takes us back to Minneapolis in the early 1970s, before Morris Day became the charismatic frontman of The Time.
Back then, Morris was a drummer.
And one of his biggest influences was David Garibaldi of Tower of Power.
In this interview, Morris recalls spending afternoons with André Cymone, listening to Tower of Power and practicing the intricate rhythms behind songs like “What Is Hip?” and “Soul Vaccination.”
He was fascinated by Garibaldi's playing and began developing his own approach to funk drumming.
Then came an opportunity that would change his musical direction.
Grand Central, the teenage band featuring Prince and André Cymone, needed a drummer. After hearing Morris play, André encouraged him to audition.
Morris got the job.
He also remembers seeing Grand Central perform at a school dance, where a teenage Prince was already playing guitar solos inspired by Carlos Santana and Jimi Hendrix with astonishing confidence.
These were young musicians learning from their heroes, challenging one another, and developing their own musical identities.
And there's an especially interesting connection to this week's setlist.
Tower of Power's David Garibaldi helped establish a rhythmic vocabulary that would influence the emerging Minneapolis Sound. Some of that influence would eventually find its way into the drum-machine patterns associated with Prince and The Time.
This week, we hear Tower of Power's “What Is Hip?” alongside The Time's “777-9311,” with Morris Day's firsthand recollections helping connect the two.
Before Morris Day was leading The Time, he was keeping time.
And before the Minneapolis Sound became a worldwide phenomenon, it was taking shape in neighborhood rehearsals, school dances, and the friendships between young musicians who loved funk.
Funky Friday – Episode 88: Twin Cities Funk
🔥 SETLIST + RENEGADE NOTES
The Time - “Jungle Love”
Personnel: Morris Day - lead vocals; Jesse Johnson - guitar; Prince - songwriting, production and instrumentation; The Time - performing group. Written by Prince, Jesse Johnson and Morris Day, with Martika Marrero also credited in the playlist metadata. Original album Ice Cream Castle, released in 1984.
Renegade Note: We're opening with the sound that made Minneapolis impossible to ignore. “Jungle Love” brings together Morris Day's unmistakable personality, Jesse Johnson's cutting guitar, and the rhythmic precision that became a signature of the Minneapolis Sound. By 1984, The Time had become a formidable musical presence, and their appearance in Purple Rain helped introduce that swagger to an even larger audience. But here's the question that launches this week's journey: where did this sound come from? To answer it, we have to travel backward, before the fame, the drum machines, and the purple spotlight.
Prophets of Peace - “Get It On”
Personnel: Prophets of Peace - Minneapolis-area funk and soul group. This selection appears on Numero Group's Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound, released in 2013. The playlist does not identify individual musicians, songwriters or the original recording date.
Renegade Note: Before the Minneapolis Sound had a name, the Twin Cities had musicians making funk on their own terms. Prophets of Peace belonged to the earlier generation of local bands whose music helped establish that foundation. “Get It On” takes us away from the international spotlight and into the regional scene documented by Purple Snow. Listen for the relationship between the rhythm section and the rest of the arrangement. This is an important part of our story: Minneapolis didn't suddenly discover funk when Prince arrived. The music was already there, and young musicians had plenty of examples to learn from.
94 East - “If You See Me”
Personnel: 94 East - Minneapolis studio project led by guitarist and producer Pepe Willie; Prince - guitar and other instrumental contributions during his early association with the project. This selection is the 2016 remaster from 94 East (Bonus Track Version) [feat. Prince]. The playlist lists 1985, but that does not establish the original recording date.
Renegade Note: Here's a chance to hear Prince before the world knew his name. Pepe Willie's 94 East sessions belong to the period when Prince was developing his abilities as a studio musician, working alongside other Minneapolis artists and learning how songs came together in a recording environment. “If You See Me” offers a glimpse of that earlier musical identity, before the distinctive production approach of his solo albums had fully emerged. It's also a reminder that Prince's development didn't happen in isolation. He was part of a working musical community, and those early collaborations helped prepare him for what came next.
Prince - “Head”
Personnel: Prince - vocals, instruments, songwriting and production. Original album Dirty Mind, released in 1980.
Renegade Note: Now listen to what changes. By the time Prince released Dirty Mind in 1980, he had developed a strikingly individual approach to funk. “Head” strips the arrangement down to its essential components: a persistent groove, prominent keyboards, guitar, and a rhythm that leaves very little room for excess. Compared with the larger horn-driven ensembles that influenced his generation, this is a different kind of musical architecture. The sound is leaner, more electronic, and deliberately provocative. Prince wasn't abandoning funk's foundations; he was rebuilding them with a different set of tools. And the result helped define the musical vocabulary that would soon become associated with Minneapolis.
Tower of Power - “What Is Hip?”
Personnel: Lenny Williams - lead vocals; Emilio Castillo - tenor saxophone; Stephen “Doc” Kupka - baritone saxophone; David Garibaldi - drums; Francis Rocco Prestia - bass; Chester Thompson - keyboards; Bruce Conte - guitar; Tower of Power horn section. Written by Emilio Castillo, David Garibaldi and Stephen Kupka. Original album Tower of Power, released in 1973.
Renegade Note: We're making one deliberate stop outside Minnesota, and there's a very good reason. Tower of Power came out of the San Francisco Bay Area, but their influence reached musicians across the country, including a young Morris Day. David Garibaldi's drumming on “What Is Hip?” is a masterclass in rhythmic precision, built around the interaction of bass, drums, guitar, keyboards and a ferocious horn section. Morris has recalled studying Garibaldi's playing while developing his own skills behind the drums. This is the musical DNA we're tracing. Listen to the groove, because what happens next is one of the most fascinating transformations in the Minneapolis story.
The Time - “777-9311”
Personnel: Morris Day - lead vocals; Prince - songwriter, producer and principal studio instrumentalist; Jesse Johnson - guitar contributions associated with the recording; The Time - performing group. Original album What Time Is It?, released in 1982.
Renegade Note: Here's where our Signal Discovery comes together. After hearing Morris Day describe his early fascination with Tower of Power and David Garibaldi, we arrive at one of The Time's most extraordinary grooves. “777-9311” replaces the large live-ensemble approach with a tightly controlled electronic rhythm and a bass line that seems to have a personality of its own. The drum-machine pattern has a documented connection to programmer Art Wood and his inspiration from Garibaldi's playing on Tower of Power's “Squib Cakes.” The connection isn't a direct copy of “What Is Hip?”; it's part of the larger rhythmic vocabulary these musicians absorbed. The instruments changed, but the obsession with the groove remained.
Jesse Johnson - “Be Your Man”
Personnel: Jesse Johnson - lead vocals, guitar, songwriting and production; musicians associated with Jesse Johnson's Revue. Original album Jesse Johnson's Revue, released in 1985. The playlist does not provide complete track-specific instrumental credits.
Renegade Note: Jesse Johnson was one of the musicians who gave The Time its musical personality, particularly through his guitar playing. When he stepped out as a solo artist, he brought that identity with him. “Be Your Man” has the sharp rhythmic attack and electronic textures associated with Minneapolis, but Johnson's guitar gives the arrangement a character of its own. That's an important distinction in this episode. The Minneapolis Sound wasn't one person's formula repeated by everybody else. Its musicians had individual strengths, and when they moved into their own projects, those differences became easier to hear. Johnson makes a strong case for the guitar's continued importance in an increasingly electronic musical landscape.
Cherrelle - “I Didn't Mean to Turn You On”
Personnel: Cherrelle - lead vocals; James “Jimmy Jam” Harris III and Terry Lewis - songwriting and production. Originally released on Fragile in 1984; this selection comes from Best of Cherrelle.
Renegade Note: Now the Minneapolis Sound begins traveling far beyond Minnesota. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis had emerged from the Twin Cities music community and The Time before establishing themselves as one of contemporary R&B's most influential production partnerships. Their work with Cherrelle shows how the rhythmic ideas associated with Minneapolis could support a very different vocal personality. “I Didn't Mean to Turn You On” combines electronic percussion, synthesizers and an irresistible dance groove with Cherrelle's playful delivery. The song became a defining early success for the production team and was later covered by Robert Palmer. What started in local bands was becoming a musical language heard around the world.
André Cymone - “The Girl Next Door”
Personnel: André Cymone - lead artist, songwriter and producer. Original album The Resurrection of Funk, released in 2026.
Renegade Note: Here's the connection between the beginning of our story and the present day. André Cymone grew up alongside Prince and helped build Grand Central, one of the teenage bands at the heart of the early Minneapolis scene. But Cymone's musical identity extends well beyond his association with Prince. His 2026 album The Resurrection of Funk makes that point with considerable force. “The Girl Next Door” brings muscular bass, guitar and drums into a contemporary production that still values the physical energy of a working rhythm section. More than fifty years after those early Minneapolis bands were competing for audiences, one of the musicians who helped create the scene is still making funk. And he hasn't forgotten where the groove comes from.
Prince & The Revolution - “Let's Go Crazy”
Personnel: Prince - lead vocals, guitar, songwriting and production; The Revolution - Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Dr. Fink, Brown Mark and Bobby Z. Original album Purple Rain, released in 1984.
Renegade Note: We close where the Minneapolis Sound became a worldwide phenomenon. “Let's Go Crazy” opens Purple Rain with an unforgettable spoken introduction before exploding into a combination of rock guitar, electronic rhythm and pure musical spectacle. By 1984, Prince had taken the influences of his youth and transformed them into something immediately recognizable as his own. But after traveling through this week's music, we can hear the bigger picture. The early Twin Cities bands, the influence of Tower of Power, the contributions of Morris Day and André Cymone, the guitar of Jesse Johnson, and the production innovations of Jam and Lewis all belong to the larger story. Prince became its most famous figure, but he didn't emerge from a musical vacuum. Minneapolis and St. Paul had been building toward this moment for years. And what a moment it was.
🔗 Quick Links:
🎧 Listen live on KDOG 9 AM Pacific Time→ Here
🎧 Listen live on KCSM HD2 9 PM Pacific Time→ Here
📆 Add to Calendar — Funky Friday (Weekly):
• 9 AM KDOG
Add to Google Calendar
• 9 PM KCSM HD2
Add to Google Calendar
🎶 Catch the Replay → Comming Soon
📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here
📻 Renegade Radio Site → Here
Funk Facts
THE TIME - Jungle Love
Built around electric guitar, bass, drums, synthesizers, keyboards, and Morris Day's lead vocals. “Jungle Love” combines the precision of the Minneapolis Sound with the energy of a live funk band. Listen to Jesse Johnson's sharp guitar riff and the way it interacts with the tightly controlled rhythm underneath. The guitar supplies much of the song's personality, while the keyboards and percussion reinforce its rhythmic attack. Morris Day delivers his vocals with an almost conversational swagger, leaving space for the instrumental hooks to answer him. The arrangement is busy with attitude but economical with musical parts. Every element has a job, and the groove never loses its footing.
PROPHETS OF PEACE - Get It On
Built around bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, and vocals, with the rhythm section carrying much of the musical weight. “Get It On” gives us a glimpse of the Twin Cities funk scene before the electronic textures of the Minneapolis Sound became its most recognizable characteristic. Listen to how the instrumental parts work together rather than competing for attention. The bass establishes the foundation, the drums provide forward movement, and the guitar adds rhythmic punctuation. This is funk built around musicians responding to one another inside a shared groove. Its importance to our story lies partly in that sound; before drum machines and synthesizers reshaped the arrangements, Minneapolis musicians were already developing their own rhythmic vocabulary.
94 EAST - If You See Me
Built around bass, drums, electric guitar, keyboards, and vocals. “If You See Me” captures an earlier studio environment in which Prince was developing his musical identity through collaborations with other Minneapolis musicians. Listen to the interaction between the guitar and the rhythm section. Rather than dominating the arrangement with extended solos, the guitar contributes to the repeating instrumental texture that keeps the song moving. The keyboards add color without overwhelming the groove. Compared with Prince's later solo productions, the sound belongs more clearly to the ensemble funk and R&B traditions of the period. It's an opportunity to hear some of the musical ingredients before they were transformed into something more distinctly Minneapolis.
PRINCE - Head
Built around synthesizers, bass, electronic percussion, guitar, keyboards, and Prince's lead and layered vocals. “Head” demonstrates how dramatically Prince could reduce an arrangement without sacrificing rhythmic impact. Listen to the spaces between the instrumental parts. The keyboard figures establish the song's identity, while the bass and percussion maintain a deliberately repetitive foundation. Instead of relying on a large horn section, Prince uses electronic textures and short instrumental phrases to create movement. The vocals become another rhythmic element, moving between lead lines and responses. The result is lean, provocative, and remarkably controlled. This is where we begin hearing the familiar vocabulary of funk rearranged into something different.
TOWER OF POWER - What Is Hip?
Built around electric bass, drums, guitar, organ, a powerful horn section, and Lenny Williams's lead vocals. “What Is Hip?” is one of funk's great demonstrations of rhythmic interdependence. Listen closely to David Garibaldi's drumming and Francis Rocco Prestia's bass. Their parts are extraordinarily active, but they fit together without crowding the groove. Garibaldi places intricate accents around the beat while Prestia maintains a tightly articulated bass pattern. The horns deliver explosive punctuation above that foundation. This is the kind of rhythmic complexity that fascinated a young Morris Day. As we move toward The Time's “777-9311,” listen for the underlying philosophy: individual parts can be intricate while the complete groove remains irresistibly direct.
THE TIME - 777-9311
Built around electronic drums, synthesizer bass, keyboards, electric guitar, and Morris Day's lead vocals. “777-9311” takes the rhythmic precision associated with live funk ensembles and places it inside a radically different production environment. Listen to the bass line's rapid movement and the tight relationship between its accents and the drum-machine pattern. The electronic percussion creates a consistent framework, allowing the bass and other instrumental parts to introduce rhythmic complexity around it. The guitar contributes sharp accents without requiring a large arrangement. The connection to Tower of Power becomes particularly interesting here. The drum-machine programming associated with this song drew inspiration from David Garibaldi's playing on “Squib Cakes.” The sound is electronic, but the rhythmic imagination has roots in live funk.
JESSE JOHNSON - Be Your Man
Built around electric guitar, bass, electronic drums, synthesizers, keyboards, and Jesse Johnson's lead vocals. “Be Your Man” demonstrates how a guitarist could develop an individual voice within the Minneapolis Sound. Listen to the way Johnson's guitar moves between rhythmic accents and more prominent melodic statements. The electronic rhythm section provides a controlled foundation, but the guitar introduces a physical attack that contrasts with the smooth consistency of the synthesizers. Johnson's vocals sit comfortably within that arrangement, leaving the instrumental parts room to contribute their own hooks. After the machine-driven precision of “777-9311,” this song reminds us that the Minneapolis Sound still had plenty of room for a musician who wanted to make his guitar speak.
CHERRELLE - I Didn't Mean to Turn You On
Built around electronic drums, synthesizer bass, keyboards, percussion, and Cherrelle's lead and backing vocals. “I Didn't Mean to Turn You On” demonstrates how Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis adapted the Minneapolis rhythmic vocabulary to a more polished contemporary R&B setting. Listen to the separation between the electronic percussion and the bass line. Each occupies its own rhythmic space, creating a groove that feels both precise and playful. The synthesizers supply melodic hooks and accents without overwhelming Cherrelle's vocal performance. Her phrasing adds a conversational quality that contrasts with the consistency of the programmed rhythm. This is the Minneapolis Sound becoming a production language, capable of supporting artists well beyond the musicians who originally developed it.
ANDRÉ CYMONE - The Girl Next Door
Built around a prominent bass line, electric guitar, drums, keyboards, and André Cymone's lead vocals. “The Girl Next Door” brings the physical attack of funk instrumentation into a contemporary recording. Listen to the bass and guitar working together. The bass provides both rhythmic momentum and melodic personality, while the guitar introduces sharp accents that give the arrangement additional bite. The drums reinforce that interaction with a strong, direct pulse. Electronic textures are present, but they don't replace the rhythmic identity of the instruments. Coming after the highly controlled production of Cherrelle, this song provides an interesting contrast. Cymone's 2026 recording demonstrates that the musical principles behind the original Twin Cities scene remain useful more than fifty years later.
PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION - Let's Go Crazy
Built around electric guitar, bass, drums, synthesizers, keyboards, and Prince's lead and layered vocals. “Let's Go Crazy” brings together several musical directions explored throughout this episode. The dramatic organ-like opening establishes an almost ceremonial atmosphere before the full band launches into a driving combination of funk and rock. Listen to the relationship between the rhythm section and Prince's guitar. The drums and bass provide a steady foundation while the guitar grows increasingly aggressive, eventually taking over the arrangement with an explosive closing solo. Synthesizers expand the sound, but the guitar supplies much of its raw energy. It's a fitting conclusion to our journey: the musical ideas developed in Twin Cities neighborhoods have become the foundation for a worldwide phenomenon.
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