It's no coincidence that G-funk rhymes with P-Funk. The West Coast gangsta rappers who embraced the G-funk sound -- Warren G, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dr. Dre, among others -- were heavily influenced by George Clinton's P-Funk innovations of the '70s. And L.A.'s G-funksters are hardly the only MCs who have rapped over Clinton-minded grooves; all over the Northeast, Midwest, and the Deep South, rappers have sampled Parliament/Funkadelic to death. Recorded for Westbound Records in Detroit in 2001, Hyped Up Westbound Soljaz is essentially a rap tribute to Clinton; most of the tunes employ classic Parliament or Funkadelic grooves. It is quite appropriate that this CD came out on Westbound -- after all, Funkadelic recorded for that Motor City label from 1970-1974 before moving to Warner Bros. in 1975. Original P salutes Funkadelic by employing gems that range from "One Nation Under a Groove" to "Hit It and Quit It," while the more radio-friendly Parliament is saluted on tunes that employ the melodies of "Give Up the Funk" (Tear the Roof Off), "Flashlight," and other Casablanca hits. And "Atomic Dawg 2001," Original P's humorous description of a man's quest for sexual pleasure, acknowledges Clinton's post-Parliament/post-Funkadelic solo output of the '80s by using his 1982 smash "Atomic Dog." Born in 1940, Clinton was in his early 60s when this album was recorded in 2001 -- which means that the founder of Parliament and Funkadelic was old enough to be the grandfather of the young rappers who were coming along in the early 2000s. Clinton's influence remained long after his youth was gone, and this often infectious CD underscores the fact that more than one generation has benefited from his innovations.