Most stuff in the hip hop and R&B genres uses no more than the simple major and minor scales. For funk, minor pentatonic with added b5 (a.k.a. blues scale) is a good choice.
"You must stab him in the heart with the Bone Saber of Zumacalis... well, you could stab him in the head or the lungs, too... and the saber, it probably doesn't have to be bone, just anything sharp lying around the house... you could poke him with a pillow and kill him."
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Universal Re-Monster