Great piece, but your footnote is off-base. "Living in America" was seen as little more than a novelty record, and Grammys offered little prestige at the time in hip hop circles. You could argue that the songs he did with Full Force, like "I'm Real" and "Static" were part of the context, but it's really about the youth rediscovering James Brown's music through sampling.
I think maybe my footnote was unclear—totally agree that "Living in America" was, long term, less consequential than the impact of the hip-hop beneath the Grammy committee radar at the time. I mean that I suspect someone like Stetsasonic are arguing *at* people who might not be aware of what's happening at street level but are nonetheless at a stage of 'great respect' for James Brown, so Brown becomes an intergenerational 🤝 moment—a way Stetsasonic persuades the out-of-touch that this shows respect for the originators
Well, the song was specifically directed at James Mtume, who'd made some anti-sampling comments, generally directed at those older black musicians from the funk, soul, jazz tradition. I guess I'm arguing that the people they were addressing weren't at "a stage" of respect for Brown because of the Grammy, but people who came up musically with James Brown.
Fair point and good context ... I suppose I’d make the more conservative point then that brown was at a peak of retroactive, institutionally-approved prestige at the time
Great piece, but your footnote is off-base. "Living in America" was seen as little more than a novelty record, and Grammys offered little prestige at the time in hip hop circles. You could argue that the songs he did with Full Force, like "I'm Real" and "Static" were part of the context, but it's really about the youth rediscovering James Brown's music through sampling.
I think maybe my footnote was unclear—totally agree that "Living in America" was, long term, less consequential than the impact of the hip-hop beneath the Grammy committee radar at the time. I mean that I suspect someone like Stetsasonic are arguing *at* people who might not be aware of what's happening at street level but are nonetheless at a stage of 'great respect' for James Brown, so Brown becomes an intergenerational 🤝 moment—a way Stetsasonic persuades the out-of-touch that this shows respect for the originators
Well, the song was specifically directed at James Mtume, who'd made some anti-sampling comments, generally directed at those older black musicians from the funk, soul, jazz tradition. I guess I'm arguing that the people they were addressing weren't at "a stage" of respect for Brown because of the Grammy, but people who came up musically with James Brown.
Fair point and good context ... I suppose I’d make the more conservative point then that brown was at a peak of retroactive, institutionally-approved prestige at the time