He was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida. In Plainfield, he ran a barber salon, where he straightened hair, and soon formed a doo wop group, inspired by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, called The Parliaments. Despite initial commercial failures, The Parliaments eventually found success under the names Parliament and Funkadelic in the seventies (see also P-Funk). This article focuses on Clinton's solo efforts after 1981.
Beginning in the early 1980's, Clinton recorded several nominal "solo" albums, although all of these records featured contributions from P-Funk's core musicians. The primary reason for recording under his own name was legal difficulties, due to the complex copyright and trademark issues surrounding the name "Parliament" (primarily) and Polygram's purchase of his former label (as part of Parliament), Casablanca Records. In 1982, Clinton signed to Capitol Records as a solo artist and as the P-Funk All-Stars, releasing Computer Games that same year. "Loopzilla" hit the Top 20 R&B charts, followed by "Atomic Dog," which reached #1 R&B, but peaked at #101 on the pop chart. In the next four years, Clinton released three more studio albums (You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish, Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends and R&B Skeletons in the Closet) as well as a live album, Mothership Connection (Live from the Summit, Houston, Texas) and charting three singles in the R&B Top 30, "Nubian Nut," "Last Dance," and "Do Fries Go with that Shake." This period of Clinton's career was marred by multiple legal problems (resulting in financial difficulties) due to complex royalty and copyright issues. In 1985 he was recruited by the Red Hot Chili Peppers to produce their album Freaky Styley, because the bandmembers were huge fans of George Clinton and Funk in general. Though Clinton's popularity had waned by the mid 1980s, he experienced something of a resurgence in the early 1990s, as many rappers cited him as an influence and began sampling his songs. Alongside James Brown, George Clinton is considered to be one of the most sampled musicians ever.
In 1989, Clinton released The Cinderella Theory on Paisley Park, Prince's record label. This was followed by Hey Man... Smell my Finger. Clinton then signed with Sony 550 and released T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. (The Awesome Power Of A Fully Operational Mothership) in 1996, having reunited with several old members of Parliament and Funkadelic.
In the 1990s, Clinton appeared in films such as Graffiti Bridge (1990), Good Burger (1997) and PCU (1994). Most recently he appeared as the voice of The Funktipus, the DJ of the Bounce FM station in the 2004 video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Rapper Dr. Dre sampled most of his beats to create his G-Funk music era.
"You're Thinking Right" - the theme song for The Tracey Ullman Show, was written by Clinton.
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This is not the soundtrack composer George S. Clinton who did Mortal Kombat etc.
Nubian Nut
George Clinton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Say follow follow they use their ears
Say follow follow then they use their minds
But when they follow your body
then they loose their minds
Let me tell you a little story about King Nut,
the natives call him the Nubian Tut
out of 1407 he came to be somewhere around 2000 B.C.
then sit back and listen to the King Nuts rap
Do It!
Shaka do da Shaka do da Shaka do da
Shaka do da Shaka do da Shaka do da
I know you hitting be true
Knee deep in the jungle where the coconuts grow
where the tiger and the lion boogie with the rhinos
there's a tribe over here there's a tribe over there
drums beating funky rhythm, music's everywhere
doing the Nubian Nut
Say follow follow they loose their ears
Say follow follow then they loose their minds
High high high
Doo doo doo doo doo
Shoo bee doo bee doo dow
Doo dow doo dow doo dow
King Nubian never got hot before a show
'cause in the motherland they didn't wear too many clothes
people talk that talk break out the camel walk
then he wiggle through the jungle just as quick as a hawk
Then he grab his spear then he grab his shield
show all the native people just how good he feel
doing the Nubian Nut
say you got what you got gotten gotten goo ga got
Ho! doing the Nubian Nut
Say follow follow they loose their ears
Say follow follow then they loose their minds
Say follow follow then they loose their mouths
Late at night he'd talk his crap
while soaking his feet in some Nubian sap
he had a bone through his ear and one through his nose
the women in the tribe would massage his toes
Yeah!
When he asks you what's jumpin' it's the peas in the pot
they wouldn't be jumping if the water wasn't hot
doing the Nubian Nut
Yeah follow follow follow follow
follow follow follow follow
The people didn't know where the beat was coming from
but they knew it had to be another Nubian drum
King Nut is the future history
somewhere around 2000 A.D.
holding up the shield that's a glowing green
Raising a spear that shoots laser beams
riding in a spaceship up and down the street
tooting at the fine women on the block he meet
throwing down in studios track by track
letting everybody know the impost right fact
another spaceship here another spaceship there
here a ship there a ship everywhere a mothership
landing in Detroit at United Sounds
where all the funkateers like to boogie down
because most of all we need the funk
Oh uh heh heh heh
Say follow follow they use their ears
Say follow follow then they use their minds
Say follow follow they use their mouths
But when they follow your body
then they loose their minds
follow follow follow follow
follow follow follow follow
Shoo bee doo bee doo dow
Doo dow doo dow doo dow
follow follow follow follow
Shoo bee doo bee doo dow
Doo dow doo dow doo dow
follow follow follow follow
Shoo bee doo bee doo dow
Doo dow doo dow doo dow
follow follow follow follow
Shoo bee doo bee doo dow
Doo dow doo dow doo dow
The lyrics to George Clinton's song Nubian Nut tell the story of King Nut, also known as the Nubian Tut. He came from somewhere around 2000 B.C. and impressed the natives with his rapping. The tribes in the jungle where he resided were entranced by his funky rhythm and music. When King Nut went on stage, he didn't get hot because people in the motherland didn't wear too many clothes. The women in the tribe would massage his toes while King Nut talked his crap late at night, soaking his feet in Nubian sap. He had bones through his ear and nose.
The chorus of the song repeats "Say follow follow they loose their ears, say follow follow then they loose their minds, but when they follow your body then they loose their minds." This can be interpreted as King Nut's power over his followers. They may listen to his message, but when they follow his body language, they become hypnotized by his movements. The song also talks about King Nut as a future history figure, as if his legacy will continue up until 2000 A.D. He is seen holding a glowing green shield and a spear that shoots laser beams while riding in a spaceship. The song ends with a call for funk, as the funkateers like to boogie down at United Sounds in Detroit.
Line by Line Meaning
King Nut the Nubian Tut
The natives call him the Nubian Tut, and he is King Nut.
Say follow follow they use their ears
When you say 'follow', people use their ears to hear the command.
Say follow follow then they use their minds
After hearing 'follow', people use their minds to process the command.
But when they follow your body
then they loose their minds
When people follow your physical movements instead of your commands, they become confused.
Let me tell you a little story about King Nut,
the natives call him the Nubian Tut
out of 1407 he came to be somewhere around 2000 B.C.
well the natives clap for the Nubian sap
then sit back and listen to the King Nuts rap
A story about King Nut, the Nubian Tut who came to be around 2000 B.C. The natives celebrate his arrival and listen to him rap.
I know you hitting be true
Knee deep in the jungle where the coconuts grow
where the tiger and the lion boogie with the rhinos
there's a tribe over here there's a tribe over there
drums beating funky rhythm, music's everywhere
doing the Nubian Nut
You are really feeling the music, knee-deep in the jungle where there are tribes and wild animals. Drum beats echo through the jungle as you do the Nubian Nut dance.
High high high
Doo doo doo doo doo
Shoo bee doo bee doo dow
Doo dow doo dow doo dow
Syllables to groove to in the funky rhythm.
King Nubian never got hot before a show
'cause in the motherland they didn't wear too many clothes
people talk that talk break out the camel walk
then he wiggle through the jungle just as quick as a hawk
Then he grab his spear then he grab his shield
show all the native people just how good he feel
doing the Nubian Nut
say you got what you got gotten gotten goo ga got
Ho! doing the Nubian Nut
King Nubian doesn't get too hot since he's used to the high heat in his motherland. He walks like a camel and dances through the jungle with ease. He shows off his skills with a spear and a shield while doing the Nubian Nut dance. He tells others to join him and have fun.
Say follow follow then they loose their mouths
If people are too focused on following your movements, they may forget to speak or utter sounds.
Late at night he'd talk his crap
while soaking his feet in some Nubian sap
he had a bone through his ear and one through his nose
the women in the tribe would massage his toes
Yeah!
King Nut liked talking late at night while soaking his feet. He adorned himself with bones in his ear and nose, and the women would massage his toes as a sign of respect, acknowledging his leadership and contributions.
When he asks you what's jumpin' it's the peas in the pot
they wouldn't be jumping if the water wasn't hot
doing the Nubian Nut
When King Nut asks what's going on and peas are jumping in the pot, it's because the water is hot. He continues to dance the Nubian Nut.
The people didn't know where the beat was coming from
but they knew it had to be another Nubian drum
King Nut is the future history
somewhere around 2000 A.D.
People can't pinpoint the source of the music, but they know it must be a Nubian drum. King Nut is considered the future in history, somewhere around 2000 A.D.
holding up the shield that's a glowing green
Raising a spear that shoots laser beams
riding in a spaceship up and down the street
tooting at the fine women on the block he meet
throwing down in studios track by track
letting everybody know the impost right fact
another spaceship here another spaceship there
here a ship there a ship everywhere a mothership
landing in Detroit at United Sounds
where all the funkateers like to boogie down
because most of all we need the funk
Oh uh heh heh heh
King Nut travels in a glowing green shield wielding laser beam spears, and rides a spaceship around the city. He flirts with beautiful women and creates music track by track in studios. He reminds people of the importance of authenticity and funky music. He travels by many spaceships and lands in Detroit, where the funkateers like to dance, because ultimately, everyone needs funk.
follow follow follow follow
follow follow follow follow
Shoo bee doo bee doo dow
Doo dow doo dow doo dow
People follow along to the funky beats and say 'follow' repeatedly while grooving.
Contributed by James T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.