Minneapolis sound: History and Key Facts

The Minneapolis sound is a subgenre of funk rock that incorporates elements of new wave and synth-pop. Started at Sound 80 with tracks like "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc. and pioneered by the Minneapolis-based musician Prince and André Cymone beginning in the late 1970s, with former Lipps Inc. member David Z also being considered to be a major architect of this music, the musical style's heyday extended through the late 1980s. The style was often heard at city clubs like First Avenue and was exemplified by Prince-affiliated acts, including the Time, Vanity 6, Apollonia 6, Sheila E., the Family, Wendy & Lisa, Brownmark, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Morris Day, Jellybean Johnson and Jesse Johnson, and by acts neither affiliated with Prince nor native to Minneapolis, such as Flint, Michigan's Ready for the World.

According to the Rolling Stone Album Guide, "the Minneapolis sound... loomed over mid-'80s R&B and pop, not to mention the next two decades' worth of electro, house, and techno."

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