Funk/Soul Guitarist Michael Hampton Releases New Album “King Kong” | LISTEN!
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Michael Hampton Releases King
Kong — A Musical Retelling of the Skull Island Legend
Second in a three-record series produced by 9-time Grammy winner Joe “The Butcher” Nicolo
on Sound Mind Records / Lightyear / Virgin
Philadelphia, PA — August 2026 — Parliament-Funkadelic legacy guitarist and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Michael Hampton has released his new album King Kong, out now digitally on all major platforms via Sound Mind Records, with distribution through Lightyear Entertainment and Virgin. A musical retelling of the classic Skull Island story, King Kong blends Hampton’s blistering guitar work with narration to score the tale of the plus-size ape — a genre-defying showcase from one of the founding fathers of power-funk electric guitar.
The album is the second installment in a three-record series produced by 9-time Grammy Award winner and Ruffhouse Records co-founder Joe “The Butcher” Nicolo, following the December 2025 release of Into the Public Domain and preceding a full-length LP due later in 2026. King Kong features a roster of Hollywood session heavyweights, including members of Lauryn Hill’s band, alongside Philip Samuel Smith (rhythm guitar), Matt Lesser (drums), and John Schreffler (pedal steel, bass, and acoustic guitar). The record was tracked at Fort Wolf Studios with additional Los Angeles sessions engineered by Jacob Johnston, an engineer on multiple Hans Zimmer projects. Together, Hampton and Nicolo continue an arc that reintroduces one of funk’s most sampled and revered guitarists to a new generation while extending his legacy far beyond the P-Funk canon.
King Kong is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, and every major digital platform via geni.us/michaelhamptonkingkong.
Source: Joe “The Butcher” Nicolo