Ahead of A&E’s new docuseries, “James Brown: Say It Loud,” the Godfather of Soul’s daughters are reflecting on their father’s legacy and musical contributions — specifically as it relates to some of today’s musical icons and one of the largest genres.
Speaking in an interview with PEOPLE, Brown’s daughter Deanna Brown said, “There would be no hip-hop. There would be no rap, because he’s the most-sampled artist. There would be no Michael [Jackson], there would be no Usher, there’d be no Chris Brown — all these people who took from him.”
She continued:
“I mean, where would it be? You could ask a lot of these musicians, they’ll tell you the same thing. It would probably be zero. I think LL [Cool J] says that in the documentary that the trajectory of music would be — he can’t even imagine where it would be without James Brown.”
His other daughter, Dr. Yamma Brown, echoes her sentiments, adding, “And I think that’s the key that you get from what LL Cool J said, that it would be very different. Who knows what would’ve transpired?”
While this may be an arguable point for folks not abreast of their music history, the Black collective has known this to be a fact for years. Not only are many contemporary artists influenced by Brown, but MJ and Usher have both given credit to the “Get On Up” singer in the past.
Usher, who coincidentally shared the stage with both aforementioned legends, revealed to Revolt in 2023 how much they inspired him and his career.
“James Brown told me that if you stay ready, you ain’t got to get ready. These are mantras that are real. The entertainers that I was watching, they were motivating me as I watched them entertain in a very specific way,” he explained.
“When I saw him move I was mesmerized,” Jackson said during his speech at Brown’s funeral back in 2007. “I’ve never seen a performer perform like James Brown and right then and there I knew that that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”
Even folks online echoed this sentiment, writing on X/Twitter:
“I thought we all knew this. James Brown is the most sampled artist in hip hop and he was Michael’s hero,” wrote one user.
“LMAOOO yall thought she was gagging us. Baby we agree,” said another.
“Thought this was an easy ‘goes without saying’ in terms of defining James Brown’s legacy. Break beats alone starts w/ him. He’s been referred to as the “Godfather of Hip Hop” forever, so is this revelation for the non-Blacks? Bc I’m not understanding why this is a headline,” said another user.
“This is absolutely true but like… who was debating this?,” questioned one user.
See, we told you real ones knew. *insert Kanye shrug here*
His daughters are correct: There’s no telling what the landscape of music would look like without Brown and all he gave us. And if you want to find out more, you can do so by tuning into “James Brown: Say It Loud” on A&E Wednesday night.