James Brown — "I got to be me. I can't be nobody else."
I got to be me. I can't be nobody else.
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More from James Brown
"I'm a genius. I know I'm a genius. And I'm not afraid to say it."
"I can't go to hell, I'm a good dancer."
"When I'm on stage, I'm trying to do one thing: bring people joy."
"I'm a soldier for love. I'm a soldier for peace. And I'm a soldier for music."
"I don't need no sleep. I got to work. I got to make the people happy."
About James Brown (1933-2006)
American singer and 'Godfather of Soul' whose 1960s-70s recordings invented funk and shaped hip-hop's rhythmic foundations. Closely associated with Sly Stone (fellow funk pioneer (Sly and the Family Stone)) and George Clinton (Parliament-Funkadelic successor). For an intellectual contrast, see Berry Gordy, Motown founder — Motown made Black popular music palatable for white radio with smoothed-out crossover production; Brown's funk insisted on the raw groove without compromise. The two opposite paths Black popular music took out of the 1960s — Motown polish vs JB raw.