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Zapp is the debut studio album by the American funk band Zapp, released on July 30, 1980 by Warner Bros. Records. The album's style and sound bears a striking resemblance to Parliament-Funkadelic, as the band was working with and being mentored by P-Funk members William Earl "Bootsy" Collins and George Clinton during the album's production. The album was produced by Zapp frontman Roger Troutman along with funk musician Bootsy Collins. The Troutman family of the Zapp band had close ties with the Collins family, both being Ohio natives. This friendship proved instrumental in Zapp gaining a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1979. Zapp was recorded between late 1979 and early 1980 at the United Sound Studios in Detroit, Michigan, of which Parliament-Funkadelic frequented.

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Zapp
Studio album by Zapp
Released	July 30, 1980
Recorded	1979–1980
Studio	United Sound Systems (Detroit, Michigan)
Genre	Electro-funk
Length	40:16
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Roger Troutman, Bootsy Collins
Zapp chronology
Zapp (1980) Zapp II (1982)
Singles from Zapp
"More Bounce to the Ounce" Released: September 1980[1] "Be Alright" Released: November 1980[2]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Robert Christgau	C+ [4]

The album reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot R&B tracks chart for 2 weeks in fall 1980.[5] The album has been cited as one of the definitive albums of early 1980s electro funk, bringing the genre to mainstream attention. The album has also served as a partial source toward the creation of the G-funk sound of hip hop music, which became popular on the West Coast of the United States during the early and mid 1990s. Zapp was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in November 1980.

Background and recording

During the late 1970s, Zapp was noticed by two longstanding friends of the Troutman family, Phelps "Catfish" Collins and William Earl "Bootsy" Collins, both of whom were members of Parliament-Funkadelic since the early 1970s. Earlier, Roger Troutman and his brothers played frequently in the Ohio area, originally forming the band "Roger and His Fabulous Vels" in 1966.

Impressed with Zapp's musical abilities upon seeing their live performance, Catfish and Bootsy invited Zapp to visit Detroit's United Sound Studios, where they went on to write and record the demo for "More Bounce to the Ounce," which would later appear on the debut album. Parliament-Funkadelic front-man George Clinton encouraged the band to present the demo tape to Warner Bros. Records, which ultimately led to the band's signing to the label in early 1979.

"George Clinton just happened to step into the studio this night and he really liked this one part that we had already re-did on 'Funky Bounce'. He advised us to loop that section and put the other talk-box parts over it. At that time, this was considered a genius act, because you had to actually cut the tape and make the right cut, line it up and loop it. So let us not forget that Dr. Funkenstein was way ahead of his time as well."

— Bootsy Collins

The full album was ultimately recorded in the same studio between late 1979 and early 1980 and was released on July 28, 1980 under the Warner Bros. label. Zapp was produced by both Roger Troutman and Bootsy Collins, who also provided the guitar work for the album.

In popular culture

"More Bounce to the Ounce" is featured in the films Boyz n the Hood, Mi Vida Loca, Losing Isaiah, Hate, Any Given Sunday , Blue Hill Avenue and Straight Outta Compton the 2002 Rockstar video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and the 2018 South Park episode "A Boy and a Priest". It was also in an episode of "New Girl" (Season 4, episode 20).

Track listing

All songs written by Roger Troutman

Side one:

1. "More Bounce to the Ounce" – 9:25
2. "Freedom" – 3:48
3. "Brand New Player" – 5:51

Side two:

1. "Funky Bounce" – 6:46
2. "Be Alright" – 7:52
3. "Coming Home" – 6:34

Chart performance

In 1980, "More Bounce To the Ounce" went to number 2 on the US Black singles chart and the self-titled album went straight to number one on the US Black albums chart also in 1980.

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[6]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

• vocals - Bobby Glover, Jannetta Boyce, Marchelle Smith, Delores Smith
• percussion - Larry and Lester Troutman
• conga drums - Larry Troutman
• trapp drums - Lester Troutman
• bass, vocals - Terry Troutman
• sax - Carl Cowen
• keyboards, vocals - Greg Jackson
• guitars - Bootsy Collins
• guitars, vocals, keyboards, talk box, bass, harmonica, vibraphone - Roger Troutman

Album Cover Art by Ronald P'"Stozo" Edwards and Overton Loyd

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1980 (U.S.)

References

Further reading

• Tony Bolden, The funk era and beyond: new perspectives on black popular culture. Macmillan, 2008.
• Portia K. Maultsby, "Dayton Street Funk: The Layering of Multiple Identities" The Ashgate research companion to popular musicology. Ashgate, 2009.
• Dave Tompkins, Wax Poetics Magazine number 35 (2009)
• Rickey Vincent, Funk: the music, the people, and the rhythm of the one. Macmillan, 1996.
• Alexander G. Weheliye. “Feenin: Posthuman Voices in Black Popular Music.” Social Text 71 (summer 2002): 21-47.

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