Sometimes The Funkin's Hard On You, Sometimes You're Hard On The Funk

"I needed to tell my story. So in order to do that, I had to get famous again," insists George Clinton of releasing his new album Medicaid Fraud Dog. "This is to let the people know that Atomic Dog and Mothership Connection are not the end of the story. So when you see Medicaid Fraud Dog, you'll see Sir Nose is still out here fuckin' up and Dr Funkenstein is out here inoculating people with the funk."

Breaking out of Motown's stable of songwriters, the funkadelic relic's first release came in 1967 with the song (I Wanna) Testify. Fifty years on, his latest Parliament album features Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and the great Sly Stone and follows on from First Ya Gotta Shake The Gate, a 2014 reunion of Funkadelic, his other funk incarnate band.

"We didn't feel like putting anything commercial out until I got that court stuff with all the copyrights," he confides of the album, the first completely new Funkadelic release in more than 30 years. Indeed, Clinton's longstanding court battles with labels, most notably Bridgeport Music, for monies owed him from mammoth sample royalties are well-documented in Clinton's memoir Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard On You?

While the man himself has been clean for the past decade, Clinton's drug use, and its part in the creation of a lifetime catalogue of hits, has also been covered at length. One story, however, stands out from the pack. Backstage at a 1996 gig with Parliament, Clinton met the daughter of then US President Bill Clinton, Chelsea, with a lit crack pipe palmed behind his back.

"I was gettin' ready to light up. It was red-hot, burning the shit out of my hand, and I look at the picture they took 'cause they had it in People magazine I [can] feel the pain in my hand as I look at the picture."

These past indiscretions are not something that Clinton is afraid to reflect on, nor is leaving them behind. "Getting off of drugs is a high too. It works both ways. Really. I've made doing drugs look hip and I made gettin' off them look hip, too. And, I tell you, gettin' off drugs is a better high. I got sick probably one time and that was enough. I took that as my warning and I was glad that I took it.

"I have fun performing so it's not a job. I feel like I'm on drugs even though I'm not on drugs anymore. The funk is my viagra. That's why I'll be hard when I get through."

Medicaid Fraud Dog is about just that journey, says Clinton; "People on meds all over the place, whether it's legal or illegal," something reflected in the title of the lead single that dropped back in August. "I'm Gon Make You Sick (Antidote)," shares Clinton. "Then I'mma give you the antidote."