Unity (song)

"Unity" is a song recorded by Afrika Bambaataa and James Brown as a duet in 1984. It is notable for being the first recording in which James Brown collaborated with a performer associated with hip hop, a then-new idiom heavily influenced by Brown's own funk music. The record's title and its cover showing the two performers clasping hands express solidarity between the two styles. The song's music is similar in its structure to Brown's own funk songs of the late 1960s and 1970s, but uses the drum machine and keyboard-generated timbres of electro. The song's rapped lyrics are on the themes of "Peace, unity, love, and having fun".

"Unity" contains several references to Brown's earlier recordings. The song's a cappella opening paraphrases the beginning of his 1970 song "Get Up, Get Into It and Get Involved", and an instrumental passage in the middle of part 1 is borrowed from his 1969 hit "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose".

A videotape was shot of the vocal recordings of the song in Studio A at Unique Recording Studios, NYC. The tape was given to Fred Seibert and Alan Goodman of Fred/Alan Inc. to make into an inexpensive music video. The team worked with their in-house producer/director Tom Pomposello and creative director Marcy Brafman and Peter Caesar to create the video.

Personnel

• James Brown - co-lead vocal
• Afrika Bambaataa - co-lead vocal
• "Chops" - horns
• Brian Banks- keyboards
• Anthony Marinelli - keyboards
• Robin Halpin - keyboards
• Skip McDonald - guitar
• Doug Wimbish - bass
• Keith LeBlanc - drums

12" version

A six-part version of "Unity" was released as a 12" record:

1. Unity (Part 1: The Third Coming) - 3:20
2. Unity (Part 2: Because It's Coming) - 3:20
3. Unity (Part 3: Nuclear Wildstyle) - 3:29
4. Unity (Part 4: Can You See It) - 6:47
5. Unity (Part 5: The Light) - 4:15
6. Unity (Part 6: World 3) - 2:44

References

• Leeds, Alan M., and Harry Weinger (1991). Star Time: Song by Song. In Star Time (pp. 46-53) [CD liner notes]. London: Polydor Records.
• White, Cliff (1991). Discography. In Star Time (pp. 54-59) [CD liner notes]. London: Polydor Records.

External links

• Review of the Unity 12" from Allmusic