"Brother Rapp" is a 1970
funk song written and performed by
James Brown. It was first released as a two-part
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
on
King Records (K6285) in early 1970, but was quickly withdrawn from sale. It was released again later that year in a mechanically sped-up version that
charted #2 R&B and #32 Pop. It also appeared on the album ''
Sex Machine'' with
overdub
Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
bed crowd noise, and Brown later issued it in a faded version with different guitar work, in 1973 for the ''
Slaughter's Big Rip-Off
''Slaughter's Big Rip-Off'' is a 1973 blaxploitation film directed by Gordon Douglas and written by Charles Eric Johnson. The film stars Jim Brown, Ed McMahon, Don Stroud, Brock Peters, Gloria Hendry and Dick Anthony Williams. The film was re ...
'' soundtrack album. A live version of "Brother Rapp" is included on the album ''
Love Power Peace
''Love, Power, Peace: Live at the Olympia, Paris, 1971'' is a live album by James Brown. It is the only recording that documents one of his live performances with the original J.B.'s lineup featuring Bootsy and Catfish Collins. (The group's c ...
''.
In his 1986 autobiography, Brown related the lyrical message of "Brother Rapp" to his support of
hip hop music:
I admire the rap and the break dancing and all the stuff coming out of hip hop. A lot of the records are messages that express community problems. Used right, those records could help prevent the riots of the sixties from happening again. If you know how a community feels about things, then you can do something about it... That's what my song "Brother Rapp" is all about. A fella is calling on his lady and protesting at the same time: "Don't put me in jail before I get a chance to rap. Here what I'm saying. When you see me on a soapbox out there complaining, don't lock me up. Sit down and join me." And that's what I'm saying about these records. Let 'em testify. Let the brothers rap.[Brown, James, and Bruce Tucker (1986). ''James Brown: The Godfather of Soul'', 263. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press.]
References
James Brown songs
Songs written by James Brown
1970 singles
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