Bootsy Collins has always been one funkadelic step ahead of the game. With the release of Album of the Year #1 Funkateer, his 23rd studio album, the legendary bassist, bandleader, and interstellar showman reminds us that funk isn’t just a sound—it’s a state of mind, a worldview, and a spiritual frequency. Released via Bootzilla Records and Roc Nation, the album is a wild, reverent, and surprisingly forward-looking ride through time, space, and rhythm.

Clocking in at 18 tracks, Funkateer is an epic in its own right. But what sets it apart is Collins’ ability to stitch generations together—his own history with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic bleeds into the energy of Gen-Z collaborators and hip-hop heavyweights. This isn’t just Bootsy looking back; it’s him reaching forward.

The album’s guests list reads like a summit of groove gods and modern funk disciples: Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Musiq Soulchild, October London, Wiz Khalifa, and even Collins’ own multiverse of alter egos—Bootdullivan, Caspar the Funked Up Ghost, Zillatron, Bootronix—make appearances. Each track feels like a scene in a musical comic book, full of colorful characters and outrageous instrumentation, all orbiting Bootsy’s signature low-end thunder.

The title track, featuring Bootdullivan and Myra Washington, sets the tone: bold, unfiltered, and hilariously Bootsy. Then comes “The InFluencers,” a generational flex that brings together Snoop, Wiz, and Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart on the same track—because why not? It’s a testament to Bootsy’s enduring magnetism that his brand of uncut funk still resonates across such varied sonic landscapes.

But the heart of this record beats strongest on “The JB’s Tribute Pastor P,” an emotional homage to his former bandmates and drumming giants Clyde Stubblefield and John “Jabo” Starks. The inclusion of archival grooves and features from Fred Wesley and Daru Jones give it a holy reverence. Bootsy doesn’t just memorialize them—he brings them back to life in sound.

Then there’s “Reach the Zone,” a sultry slow-burner featuring the velvet vocals of Musiq Soulchild and October London. It’s a masterclass in space and restraint, the kind of track that reminds you Bootsy isn’t all cartoonish funk—he’s also a sensualist, a balladeer of the bedroom.

Where the album surprises most, though, is in its futurism. Tracks like “I.Am.AI” and “Ubiquitous” dive into questions of consciousness, artificial intelligence, and humanity’s digital frontier. Who else but Bootsy Collins could make a track about AI sound this groovy? It’s absurd in the best way possible—like George Clinton hijacking a TED Talk.

If The Power of the One (2020) was a reminder that Bootsy still had it, Album of the Year #1 Funkateer is proof that he never let it go. At 73, Collins isn’t slowing down—he’s speeding up, careening through wormholes of sound, lifting new artists along for the ride, and still making basslines that could rupture a black hole.