Roots of Uptown Funk

Earth, Wind & Fire is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling bands ever, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide.

The Sequence was an American hip hop group formed in Columbia, South Carolina in 1979, that comprised Angie B., Blondy, and Cheryl the Pearl. The group rose to fame with the single, "Funk You Up" (1979), which was the first rap hit performed by women and one of the first commercially successful hip hop singles. Their debut album, Sugar Hill Presents The Sequence (1980), was released on Sugar Hill Records and was the first hip hop record on vinyl released by an all-female act.

Zapp is an American funk band that emerged from Dayton, Ohio, United States, in 1977. Particularly influential in the electro subgenre of funk, Zapp were known for their trademark use of the talk-box effect. The original line-up consisted of four Troutman brothers—frontman Roger, Larry, Lester and Terry—first cousin, Sherman Fleetwood—and non-Troutman family members Bobby Glover, Gregory Jackson, Jerome Derrickson, Eddie Barber, Jannetta Boyce and Shirley Murdock. Zapp also worked closely with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins of Parliament-Funkadelic during its early stages, their support being a factor in the group gaining a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1979.