Other than maybe Miles' Live-Evil , James Brown's Star Time was the most played album of my childhood. That four CD box-set -- an exhaustive collection of tracks that span every era of, perhaps, music’s foremost genius – was like a soundtrack for my childhood. So, when my father (in some early-90s video footage) is standing in our driveway, in a James Brown T-shirt, failing in his attempt to camel-walk (JB’s signature move) to "Mother Popcorn" booming from the speakers and the camera pans to my little brother yelping and screeching along with Mr. Please, Please; my Pops turns to the camera and drops a supreme understatement: “Yep, I got these James Brown Kids, too.” He sure did. So, losing James Brown on December 25th, was like losing my favorite uncle.

James was always playing in the crib, in the car, it was the album of choice in the minivan when we took trips. It’s not easy for an artist to appeal to kids a full generation removed from his or her hey-day. You might respect and enjoy some of your parent’s music, but it is wholly different to adopt an artist you associate with your parents as your own. But that’s what my siblings and I did with James Brown. In essence, he was no different, really, than Mary J Blige or Jeru the Damaja. It was probably that way because 90% of the music we listened to was rooted in what James did. I read someone say that James is to rythm and groove what Bob Dylan was to lyrics and what Sacthmo and Duke Ellington were to instrumentation and general music arrangements and thats so true. By the time JB had moved away from the raw emotion of power ballads, like “Please, Please, Please” and “Try Me” to drop “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” in 1965, R&B and soul got a new look and America started calling it funk. Then about 20 years later, JB’s grooves were the bricks and morter that hip-hop musicians used to build much of their sound. I used to sit and listen to a James tune and suddenly do a double-take, like "Wait, I thought Eric Sermon created that groove for EPMD. I didnt know he straight up ripped it off James."

Rich Harrington's piece that ran in the Washington Post the day after JB passed was especially poignant and insightful. He offered an interesting perspective when he said that hip-hop would have happened with or without James, but it wouldn’t have sounded as good or developed that core groove that it has. It seems like an informed idea, except, virtually every rapper expressed sentiments that fundamentally disagreed with Harrington’s estimate. Snoop, Cube, Nas, Chuck D – every rapper was voicing some variation of, "Without him there would not be any us." The fact that artists themselves paint James as an essential cog in hop is powerful testimony. Do yourself a favor and listen to "Get On The Good Foot", "Super Bad", "Funky Drummer", "Soul Power" -- these songs were sampled by MULTIPLE artists REPEATEDLY. “Funky Drummer,” in fact, is credited as the most sampled song in the history of American music. When James and the JB’s supply a downright stupid-tight groove for "Get Up, Gen Into It, Get Involved" and then drop the rhythm and “take it to the bridge” with a psychadelic guitar-riff, it’s some the most hip-hoppish stuff you’ve probably ever heard. JB released that single in 1971 and here it is, about 30 years later, and Nas is using it for “Where Are They Now” off Hip Hop Is Dead.

"Licking Stick", "Outta Sight", "Mother Popcorn", "Make It Funky"— we're talking stuff so progressive and ahead of its time and spectacular that it’s almost shameful. And it gets downright creepy when you listen to "I Can't Stand Myself". That groove that The JBs lay down (and the Godfather arranged) is immoral. Then James says, "Let me hear you walk a little bit, Tim" and ya man starts walking the bass like he's Ron Carter – it’s just plain ol’ filthy. It’s funky.

We won’t even touch on how MJ, Prince, Mick Jagger, Bobby Brown, Justin Timberlake and anyone else you can think of were indelibly influenced by James stage performance (and you can hear this on grand display on Live At The Apollo). Many attribute the whole rock-star live performance thing to Elvis Pressley, but it is known that Elvis studied James to get his steez down. Fuggedaboutit, and that’s also not to mention the fact that James practically invented the so-called power-ballad. Plus, dude was right there at the forefront of the movement toward socially driven songs, during the tumult of the 60s and 70s. Everyone knows about "I'm Black and I'm Proud", a historic anthem. But, there were also more subtle and equally powerful joints like "I Don't Want Nobobdy To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door I’ll Get It Myself)" and “Talkin Loud And Saying Nothing.”

What a pioneer and vanguard that man was. Mr. Dynamite, Soul Brother Number One, The Hardest Working Man In Show Business – James had all types of titles, but none more profound than The Godfather of Soul. Yet, when you think about it, that’s actually selling him short. He birthed and nurtured so much more than just soul. In fact, James just might be the greatest music artist ever and that’s not knee-jerk hyperbole. He ain’t called the Godfather for nothing. R.I.P.