James Brown Speaks
About Today's Songs
"Rap and hip-hop, as much as funk and soul, are all ultimately
reflective musical forms. They hold a mirror up to the times, and if that reflection is distorted, it's not the glass
that's the problem-it's the perception of the person looking.
As for me, I've always been a stylistic preacher, someone who wants to extend a hand to all races, all colors, both in
America and around the world. I'm always ready to lend a hand, give advice, and offer encouragement. After all, I am the
Godfather of Soul!
As long as rap is so pervasive right now, maybe it's worth another look. I'll let you in on a little secret. I believe a
lot of people in the industry will know what I'm talking about ----- that a lot of the more tasteless aspects of rap is
really part of a . . . conspiracy to destroy the integrity of Black music in America. Let me explain what I mean.
I firmly believe that Black music should never be 'dirty.' And if you think about it, how could it be, unless someone . . .
was allowing it? . . . I believe a lot of the most anarchic, 'dirty' songs that have made rap something it wasn't intended
to be by Blacks were either something they were pressured by labels into recording, or actually products originated . . .
to discredit all the artists who rap, and the audiences who buy it . . . so that White people could shake their heads and
say, 'See? That's what Black people are really all about. That's how they talk about their girlfriends and worse, their
mamas. Instead of building their women up, they portray them as whores and sluts! And that's what they allow their children
to listen to.'
Rappers out there, I'm especially talking to you! Listen to your Godfather! I know some of you will think I'm
crazy for even suggesting it, but please, maybe we shouldn't all be so quick to dismiss the words of a man who speaks from
firsthand knowledge of the music business . . . Somebody's lying to you somewhere, and that someone isn't me . . . we need
to get back to the roots of our music, our industry, and our souls. And the only way to do that is to return to the purity of
our love for our music, and all the positive things that it represents for us."
From pages 217 - 219 of
ISBN 0-451-21393-9
"I FEEL GOOD
A Memoir of a Life of Soul"
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