It’s an homage to funk music and the unapologetic Blackness that birthed the genre — and also a celebration of the sense of community that the arts can breed when illiberal despots don’t stand in the way. In the documentary, we learn that some of the greatest funk artists in history, from the Ohio Players to Prince and The Time, were products of public school arts programs — the kinds of programs threatened by Trump’s bigoted assault on diversity — and a Black middle class that is currently being squeezed as well. And we learn, importantly, of the value of diversity and cultural exchange, when, for example, Clinton explains that he drew influence from Elton John and the British rock group King Crimson — but also when Talking Heads frontman David Byrne discusses the influence he drew from Black artists like Brown and members of Clinton’s band.
Author: Ja'han Jones
Published at: 2025-04-08 22:55:26
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