11 James Brown Tracks Every Hip-Hop Fan Should Know

The King of Soul's impact in rap is unmatched.

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Complex Original

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The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, is the Grandfather of Rap; and that's a fact, jack. Since hip-hop’s inception, rap producers have popularly refreshed Brown’s catalogue as the basis for countless hits. Formative beatmakers Marley Marl, Prince Paul, and the Bomb Squad built signature sounds the drums, bass lines, and ad lib vocals of James Brown's biggest hits and deepest cuts.

In his historic lifetime, James Brown wrote and produced hits that spanned all genres—rock, funk, and blues. Mick Jagger co-produced the upcoming bio-drama Get On Up, based on Brown’s life and career, and featuring rapper Black Thought and neo-soul singer Jill Scott. After portraying Jackie Robinson in 42 last year, 32-year-old Chadwick Boseman will change makeup to play James Brown in Get On Up, which debuts today in theaters nationwide.

Hollywood and the music business are deservedly enthralled to a rock-and-roll legend who inspired literally every genre of popular music in the U.S. in one form or another. It's impossible (or rather impractical) for us to fully list James Brown's relevance to hip-hop culture, so the following tracks are favorites and essentials—these are 11 James Brown tracks that every rap fan should know. This afternoon, Pete Rock just so happened to drop a new James Brown tribute mix that's also a must-spin. Long live Soul Brother Number One.

“Say It Loud,” 1968

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Consider for a minute (at least) that in the summer of 1968—the twilight of the Civil Rights Movement—American radio waves broadcast a crazy black man shouting, “Say it loud!” and his showtime crowd responding, “I’m black, and I’m proud!” Thus a Panther fist anthem peaked at #10 on the Billboard charts. James Brown was an FM revolutionary in the 1960s, and then again in 1990: Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” not only samples Brown’s intro vocals; Chuck D name-checks “Funky Drummer” and “I Know You Got Soul” in the song’s opening verse. Cypress Hill’s “Insane In the Brain” and Big Daddy Kane’s “Long Live the Kane” likewise prove that ripping any given James Brown shout—uh! wit yo bad self!—makes for instant grit and timeless funk. —Justin Charity

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“Hot Pants,” 1971

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This particular song has been flipped so many times even Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch took a piece of it. You know culture vultures stay stealing shit. Sike, Marky just wants to pretend like his rap career didn't happen. Anyway, the bass line can be heard verbatim on tracks like Gang Starr's “2 Steps Ahead” and Marly Marl's “The Rebel.” The track reached No. 15 on the pop chart and was an early nod to booty shorts. James Brown and his band were visionaries in every sense of the word. —Angel Diaz

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“Funky Drummer,” 1970

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James Brown was out here letting the beat breathe before Just Blaze and Jigga. Drum pioneer Clyde Stubblefield quietly goes to work throughout with the organ and saxophone doing most of the heavy lifting until Brown lets the drummer have some. The foundation of hip-hop is the break beat and this is one of the most heavily sampled joints in the genre's history with an emphasis on the short drum solo towards the end—Public Enemy's "Fight the Power," Dr. Dre's "Let Me Ride," and Ultramagnetic's "Give the Drummer Some" are just a few that borrowed from this influential record. There were numerous versions made because that's what they did back then and the single reached No. 51 on the pop chart. —Angel Diaz

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“Funky President (People It's Bad),” 1974

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Did Gerald Ford deserve a song? Probably not. But we and hip-hop are thankful because it helped Ghostface's “Mighty Healthy” become a reality. Somewhere in the middle of this funky tune, a voice tells James to “rap Godfather,” which turned out to be prophetic. James Brown records are probably the most sampled in hip-hop and the "Hey" in "Funky President" is one the most popular sounds lifted. —Angel Diaz

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"Cold Sweat"

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The beginning of everything funky. "Cold Sweat" might be his greatest creation musically. It's one of the first known records to have a drum break and a funk that had never been heard before. It started a new form of music that shifted away from the formulaic pop of the time. "Cold Sweat" brought something different and was the first time the Godfather gave the drummer some. Some critics bashed it but that didn't stop the song from changing popular music as we know it, becoming one of hip-hop's go to records to sample. —Angel Diaz

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“Think (About It)” f/ Lyn Collins, 1972

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Singer Lyn Collins signed to People Records, James Brown’s own label, in 1971. (Brown also discovered another Collins, funk duke Bootsy, no relation.) Collins’ breakout (and biggest) hit was “Think (About It),” written and produced by Brown and backed Brown’s band, The J.B.s. Among hip hop heads, both Collin’s lead vocal intro and Brown’s background ad libs will ring familiar bells. You can trace the Bomb Squad’s rebellious percussion and revolutionary steez back to this one track, a classic of the past as well as the present. (Not to be confused with “Think,” James Brown and the Famous Flames’ 1960 cover of The “5” Royales 1957 hit.) What I hadn’t realized until researching for this piece is that the hydraulic squeak that loops on Kanye’s “So Appalled” is, in fact, a pitched-up sample of Brown’s hollering over the “Think” bridge. The less subtle triumph, of course, was Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's flipping that bridge entirely to make "It Takes Two," beating Kanye to the punch by a couple decades. —Justin Charity

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“The Payback,” 1974

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Come on, man. This shit is so funky. Listen to those chords, that bounce. He's just basically talkin' shit on here like your favorite rapper. “I can do wheelin'. I can do dealin'. But I don't do no damn squealin'!” James Brown ain't no snitch and also he isn't into martial arts; this song brought the phrase: “I don't know karate but I do know carazy” to the pop culture lexicon. Everyone from Prince to Black Moon to Total took from this classic. "Can't You See" is the hottest shit I've ever heard in my life sometimes. —Angel Diaz

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“I Know You Got Soul” f/ Bobby Byrd, 1971

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Bobby Byrd provided the vocals but James Brown and the J.B.s brought the funk. Off top, there are three classic tracks that borrowed from “I Know You Got Soul:” Public Enemy's “Fight the Power,” Ice Cube's “Jackin' For Beats,” and Eric B. & Rakim's “I Know You Got Soul.” Brown even sampled it for his track “Static” which was a hip-hop record he made in '88 that ultimately gave the young genre his stamp of approval. —Angel Diaz

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“Blues & Pants,” 1971

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This and “Funky President” are my favorites of the eleven tracks we’re highlighting here, and the genre disparity between these two tracks proves the breadth of Brown’s genius; “President” is a funk groove precursor to George and Bootsy’s “Chocolate City” four years later, whereas “Blues & Pants” is a love shack jam with a 1950s aftertaste. That chord progression is an electric guitar at its old-school jazziest, with tenor reeds and big brass to accompany. Puffy looped the guitar riff most famously on Ready to Die (“Just Playing”), and the Geto Boy’s rip on “Scarface” is similarly frank. DJ Aladdin sped it up on Ice T’s “New Jack Hustler;” and Buckwild slowed it down for Big L’s “Put It On;” they both sampled “Pants” best. —Justin Charity

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“Escape-Ism,” 1971

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“Excuse me Cap’, while I rap!” That’s Brown bantering with his band and studio throughout “Escape-ism,” the inaugural release from People Records, performed with the J.B.s. Throughout the ‘70s, the chatty improv vibe between leader and band was a contemporary funk staple, and a precursor to the jam session atmospherics of too many early hip hop records to count, from Biz Markie and Public Enemy alike. “Escape-ism” is a relatively slow, recreational session, and the alto reed squealing throughout is the band’s distinct contribution; so of course you’ve heard it looped on a few dozen dance and boom-bap tracks, from Afrika Bambaataa, Big Daddy Kane, Onyx, Lords of the Underground, and most notoriously via Public Enemy’s “Don’t Believe the Hype.” Pete Rock brings the riff down a register on “Escape,” making for a dreamy sax murmur that hypnotizes.The original “Escape-ism” was released in two parts totaling just under twenty minutes, featuring instrumental solos as well as Brown’s clowning his bandmates and shouting out their bumpkin hometowns. James Brown was a stand-up comic and philosopher, you hear? —Justin Charity

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“Static,” 1988

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“Static” is, in fact, hip hop. By the jive power of the band’s rhyming ad libs: “Can we get busy?” (“Till we’re dizzy!”) “Can we do this?” (“Like Brutus!”) “Gimme some static!” (“You got it!”) “Hit me!” Backed and produced by R&B posse Full Force, “Static” features a new jack chorus backed by legendary drums. By 1988, James Brown had collaborated with Afrika Bambaataa, and New York rap producers took Brown’s catalogue and ran with it. Yet was still releasing hits in '88, the twilight of his career and dawn of his relevance within hip-hop. Between James Brown, the O’Jays, and Parliament-Funkadelic, there’s enough poolroom ad libs to service a Migos mixtape. “Static” was Brown’s last R&B chart-topper, popularizing the mantra: “Don’t start nothing, won’t be nothing!” On the low, James Brown is America’s favorite rapper. —Justin Charity

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