James Brown Made Us Feel Good

Posted by Mary Rayme Dec 26, 2006

How is it that one black man can scream, "I feel good!" and...We all DO feel good, with exclamation points and a kick in the pants? James Brown has made us feel good for decades, and now he's gone.

The best part about James Brown is that we may largely ignore his sordid personal life and focus on his art, which was creating and achieving the highest form of funk the world has ever known. James Brown truly is the Godfather of Soul.

As a tribute to the greatness that was James Brown, he remains the most frequently sampled artist of all time. Artists such as 2 Live Crew, LL Cool J, Run DMC, Slick Rick, Queen Latifah, Ice T., Public Enemy, and De La Soul have all borrowed heavily from the man who was often called the Hardest Working Man in Show Business. Considering that his performances sometimes caused him to lose several pounds of weight, perhaps this is true.

Brown's sampling is only a part of what makes him the Godfather of Hip Hip. Many of his songs feature a spoken message with music in the background, or his songs begin with speaking. Brown's rough upbringing and lifestyle made him an original gangsta in so many ways. He has true street cred and Hip Hop provenance.

His songs were sometimes more revealing of a troubled childhood. From "Papa Don't Take No Mess":

"Papa didn't cuss,He didn't raise a whole lotta fuss

But when we did wrong, Papa beat the hell out of us."

His songs encouraged pride, as in, "Say It Out Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud!" His songs sometimes had a very bigoted, male point of view, such as, "Hot Pants (She Got To Use What She Got, To Get What She Wants)"And just what does the girl in hot pants want, Mr. Brown? Hmmm? Now that James is gone, perhaps it is easier to love him.

A tip of the writing lid to my friend Doug Van Gundy for providing a necessary Brown infusion.