Michael Hampton aka Kidd Funkadelic of Parliament Funkadelic

After receiving his first guitar at age 10, a determined Michael became self-taught with the help of his bedroom radio, spending days on end playing along with Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery and B.B. King records. After studying jazz guitar in high school, an impromptu backstage audition for George Clinton in 1974 earned 17-year-old Michael a seat on the Parliament mothership alongside the immortal Eddie Hazel, under the name “Kidd Funkadelic”. Hampton has spent the past half-century playing nearly 400 shows with the band, in 25 countries across 6 continents. Highlights include multiple appearances at world-renowned festivals like Montreux Jazz, Glastonbury, Reading, Woodstock ’99, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Roskilde, Lollapalooza, Fuji Rock, and Isle of Wight, and venues like the Apollo Theater, The Fillmore, Royal Albert Hall, Madison Square Garden, The Troubadour, Red Rocks, The Beacon, and Sydney Opera House. Among Hampton’s Funkadelic writing credits are group staples like “Who Says a Funk Band Can’t Play Rock?!” and “Funk Gets Stronger”, both released during the group’s late- ’70s/early-’80s hit run. His lead guitar is also embedded in the DNA of 90s hip-hop’s G- Funk movement—Dr. Dre’s “Let Me Ride” samples Parliament’s “Mothership Connection”, Ice Cube’s “Bop Gun” borrows elements of Funkadelic’s “One Nation Under a Groove”, while De La Soul’s “Me Myself and I”, Digital Underground’s “Kiss You Back”, and Snoop Dogg’s “What’s My Name?” all draw from Funkadelic’s “(Not Just) Knee Deep”. Michael’s colleagues include George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Maceo Parker, Charlie Wilson, Dewayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight, Fred Wesley & The JB’s, Chuck Treece, Dean Ween, Primal Scream, Digital Underground, Too $hort, and Deee-Lite. Michael’s contributions to the Parliament Funkadelic catalog have also influenced famed artists like Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Outkast, D’Angelo and Janelle Monáe, among many others. As of 2025, Michael has appeared on over 30 separate major label releases. Though best known for his role in the funk guitar pantheon, Hampton is also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, with drums, keys, and synth programming credits across the Parliament discography. Michael Hampton's info Instagram Spotify TikTok Facebook YouTube

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Michael Hampton aka Kidd Funkadelic of Parliament Funkadelic is an episode from Zig at the gig podcasts by Zig at the gig.

This episode is 52:46 long.

This episode was published on Jan 14, 2026.

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