QuoteMass Incarceration

"The song is obsolete now... But it was necessary to teach…" — James Brown

c. 1986(Approximate date)· James Brown (speaker)

“The song is obsolete now... But it was necessary to teach pride then, and I think the song did a lot of good for a lot of people... The song cost me a lot of my crossover audience. The racial makeup at my concerts was mostly black after that. I don't regret it, though, even if it was misunderstood.”
Speaker
James Brown
Occasion
James Brown: The Godfather of Soul (autobiography, with Bruce Tucker), 1986

James Brown reflecting that his 1968 anthem "Say It Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud" taught pride but cost him his crossover audience.

Sources & citations

  1. 1.ultimateclassicrock.comwebsite
"The song is obsolete now... But it was necessary to teach…" — James Brown · We've Been Protesting