Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid to late 1960s when African-American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and R&B. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground. Funk songs are often based on an extended vamp on a single chord, distinguishing them from R&B and soul songs, which are built on chord progressions. Funk uses the same extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths.

Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s. It combined elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues, and often jazz. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening in the United States—where record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax labels were influential during the period of the civil rights movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa.