Good info. I had my suspicions of an earlier version of the album, given an interview with George (linked below) and the delays in release, but I didn’t know about those articles or “Yadadada” (but I did notice the “Double Oh Oh” samples).
Here’s a picture of an October 1983 interview with George in Black Beat where he mentions the album. (Interview topics: Roger Troutman & Zapp, Capitol Records/EMI & Computer Games, “maybe twenty albums waiting to go out”, E.T. Brain, Rev. Uriah Boyington, By Way Of The Drum, Up South & Sir Nose, Bootsy fear of flying, fishing)
A fleeting return to sanity revealed details of the new Funkadelic album - an intriguing project titled “By Way Of The Drum”. "I’ve sub-titled this album “Funkaroo Meets Jonkaroo” 'cos that’s exactly what it is.
"The concept for the album came about as a result of a visit to Nassau at the invitation of the BMA [Black Music Association] who wanted me to conduct a seminar. They have this annual festival thing in the Bahamas called junkaroo which is akin to the street carnivals of South and Central America. They have lots of street dancing with people and re-enacting ceremonial rites and dances - it’s a great atmosphere.
"The music is a funky combination of calypso and soca but with its very own unique characteristics: the central instrument is a goat skin drum which creates this weird-sounding rhythm. I love it!
“When we did the actual recording, I brought in drummers from Nassau and I believe the whole concept has come across well. It’s the language of the Caribbean coupled with the language of the Mothership!”