Rick Rubin, Chuck D, Mick Jagger and other music stars give thanks and praise to the Godfather...
RICK RUBIN
It's hard to put into words what music would have been without James Brown. There would clearly be no Prince, no Michael Jackson, no Sly Stone, no Parliament-Funkadelic, and I don't know if there would be a Jimi Hendrix, his reach runs so deep.
It was a completely unique form that he created. There was really nothing like it before. It stands alone.
All the hop-hop musicians I've ever worked with held him in the highest regard, but the music he invented was completely alien to R&B. The kind of syncopated nature of James Brown's music is more in the spirit of rock 'n' roll than it is in the spirit of R&B. In the early days of hip hop we were much more influenced by rock and James Brown than we were by R&B or disco, the urban forms of music at that time.
The music of James Brown was always one of my favourite things. I lived in Boston between junior and senior high school and the first week I got there, I saw James Brown was playing and I went. I didn't know Boston or what the neighbourhood was and I ended up in a very rough part that I didn't even know existed. That was my first James Brown concert, absolutely mind-blowing - unlike anything I've ever seen since. I remember the advertisement saying eight o'clock and I got there at eight and I was in an empty gymnasium by myself. I don't think the people started coming to the venue until 10 and then the show started at about 11. I was the only white person there.
His inspiration is everywhere. He inspired music to feel good. Aerosmith, for example, wanted to feel as good as James Brown, and on their live record they cut a James Brown song. You see a lot of rock music wanting to feel that groove that James Brown had, but I don't think anyone really does it, really captures it like James Brown did. When you hear it you know it, 100 per cent.
MICK JAGGER
His passing is a huge loss to music. He was a whirlwind of energy and precision, and he was always very generous and supportive to me in the early days of The Stones. I've always been a huge admirer of him as a performer and a band leader.
CHUCK D
As a 1970s B-boy I recall panic on the floors of hip-hop while Give It Up Turn It Loose roasted off the 1969 Sex Machine Live LP transfixing the forming rap nation, as if it were a discovered oil well while the rest of the disco and rock had not a clue. The sheer magnitude of Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud as an implanted, soundtracked theme into understanding that our minds, bodies, and souls were black and beautiful. Ali, Pryor and JB were our snap, crackle and pop from the transcendent, previously silenced black male in 1960s-1970s America. It ain't never left me. Never will. This should make us realise how lucky many of us are to have witnessed, experienced, and infused the work and pride ethics of the Godfather of Soul into our daily lives. For that alone we are all better for it. Probably the hardest working man in heaven right now... but may his funky soul R.I.P.
SNOOP DOGG
I am hurt. That's my godfather, my soul inspiration, the hardest working man in show business of all time. He'll be missed, but his music and his legacy will live on. Soul brother No.1... we miss you James Brown.
LITTLE RICHARD
He was an innovator, he was an emancipator, he was an originator. Rap music, all that stuff came from James Brown.
MICHAEL JACKSON
James Brown is my greatest inspiration. Ever since I was a small child - no more than six years old my mother would wake me no matter what time it was to watch the television to see the master at work. Every time I was mesmerised. I've never seen a performer like James Brown and right then and there, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do with my life. James Brown, I shall miss you and I love you so much. Thank you for everything.
RICK RUBIN
It's hard to put into words what music would have been without James Brown. There would clearly be no Prince, no Michael Jackson, no Sly Stone, no Parliament-Funkadelic, and I don't know if there would be a Jimi Hendrix, his reach runs so deep.It was a completely unique form that he created. There was really nothing like it before. It stands alone.
All the hop-hop musicians I've ever worked with held him in the highest regard, but the music he invented was completely alien to R&B. The kind of syncopated nature of James Brown's music is more in the spirit of rock 'n' roll than it is in the spirit of R&B. In the early days of hip hop we were much more influenced by rock and James Brown than we were by R&B or disco, the urban forms of music at that time.
The music of James Brown was always one of my favourite things. I lived in Boston between junior and senior high school and the first week I got there, I saw James Brown was playing and I went. I didn't know Boston or what the neighbourhood was and I ended up in a very rough part that I didn't even know existed. That was my first James Brown concert, absolutely mind-blowing - unlike anything I've ever seen since. I remember the advertisement saying eight o'clock and I got there at eight and I was in an empty gymnasium by myself. I don't think the people started coming to the venue until 10 and then the show started at about 11. I was the only white person there.
His inspiration is everywhere. He inspired music to feel good. Aerosmith, for example, wanted to feel as good as James Brown, and on their live record they cut a James Brown song. You see a lot of rock music wanting to feel that groove that James Brown had, but I don't think anyone really does it, really captures it like James Brown did. When you hear it you know it, 100 per cent.
MICK JAGGER
His passing is a huge loss to music. He was a whirlwind of energy and precision, and he was always very generous and supportive to me in the early days of The Stones. I've always been a huge admirer of him as a performer and a band leader. CHUCK D
As a 1970s B-boy I recall panic on the floors of hip-hop while Give It Up Turn It Loose roasted off the 1969 Sex Machine Live LP transfixing the forming rap nation, as if it were a discovered oil well while the rest of the disco and rock had not a clue. The sheer magnitude of Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud as an implanted, soundtracked theme into understanding that our minds, bodies, and souls were black and beautiful. Ali, Pryor and JB were our snap, crackle and pop from the transcendent, previously silenced black male in 1960s-1970s America. It ain't never left me. Never will. This should make us realise how lucky many of us are to have witnessed, experienced, and infused the work and pride ethics of the Godfather of Soul into our daily lives. For that alone we are all better for it. Probably the hardest working man in heaven right now... but may his funky soul R.I.P. SNOOP DOGG
I am hurt. That's my godfather, my soul inspiration, the hardest working man in show business of all time. He'll be missed, but his music and his legacy will live on. Soul brother No.1... we miss you James Brown. LITTLE RICHARD
He was an innovator, he was an emancipator, he was an originator. Rap music, all that stuff came from James Brown. MICHAEL JACKSON
James Brown is my greatest inspiration. Ever since I was a small child - no more than six years old my mother would wake me no matter what time it was to watch the television to see the master at work. Every time I was mesmerised. I've never seen a performer like James Brown and right then and there, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do with my life. James Brown, I shall miss you and I love you so much. Thank you for everything.