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The late singer's daughter Deanna tells PEOPLE her dad is "the most-sampled artist"
By
Angel Saunders
and
Daniela Avila
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/headshot-2000-c31c1105ead4474ab082f22773ba1735.jpg "Daniela Avila")
Daniela Avila
Daniela Avila is an editorial assistant at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2021. Her work previously appeared on The Poly Post.
PEOPLE EDITORIAL GUIDELINES
Updated on February 19, 2024 08:15PM EST
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(725x343:727x345):format(webp)/James-Brown-Michael-Jackson-Usher-tout-021924-16cd2ebfef834f52ac90f3113b3f09dd.jpg "James Brownâs Daughter Says There Would Be No Hip-Hop, Michael Jackson or Usher Without Her Dad")
James Brown, Michael Jackson, Usher. PHOTO:
GETTY; PHIL DENT/REDFERNS; AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN/FILMMAGIC
James Brown may be known as the “Godfather of Soul,” but those who knew him as “dad” are making sure his impact continues to be recognized.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE ahead of A&E’s four-part docuseries, James Brown: Say It Loud, two of his daughters, Deanna Brown and Dr. Yamma Brown, say music would not be where it is today had it not been for their father.
“There would be no hip-hop. There would be no rap, because he's the most-sampled artist,” Deanna, 55, says. “There would be no Michael [Jackson], there would be no Usher, there'd be no Chris Brown — all these people who took from him.”
View attachment 5618749
“I mean, where would it be? You could ask a lot of these musicians, they'll tell you the same thing. It would probably be zero. I think LL [Cool J] says that in the documentary that the trajectory of music would be — he can't even imagine where it would be without James Brown,” she continues.
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Referring to the "Around the Way Girl” rapper, Yamma, 52, also adds, “And I think that's the key that you get from what LL Cool J said, that it would be very different. Who knows what would've transpired?"
She notes that her late father began his career “so long ago.”
Yamma tells PEOPLE that she's "thankful" that her father — who died on Christmas Day in 2006 at the age of 73 — "created" funk and influenced other genres, "hip-hop definitely being one of them."
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/james-brown-yamma-deanna-tout-021524-5254d84233544bbbabc802aa63eff65c.jpg "Yamma Brown, wearing a sheer leopard print coat, with Adrienne Rodriguez (1950-1996), American singer and musician James Brown (1933-2006), and Deanna Brown Thomas, wearing a pink coat, in the press room of the 34th Grammy Awards, held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, 25th February 1992. Yamma and Deanna are James Brown's daughters, and Rodriguez is his wife's daughters, and Rodriguez is his wife")
Yamma Brown, Adrienne Rodriguez, James Brown, and Deanna Brown Thomas; February 1992.
VINNIE ZUFFANTE/GETTY
But she said that although many musicians have been influenced by his craft, his impact extended far beyond the entertainment industry.
Yamma said, "Somebody sitting at home maybe watching it and think, ‘His story is not that dissimilar than mine and look what he went on to do.’ And if you can inspire somebody to be the greatest at what they can be, that's amazing."
She added, "I just wish he was still here to see some of this. He would not believe it. He would not believe it.”
James Brown: Say It Loud will air on A&E on Monday, Feb. 19, and Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. EST.
In it, both Yamma and Deanna fondly remember their childhood with their parents.
"I could hear him, how he talked to different people, how he wanted his business taken care of. I learned a lot while I was putting those rollers in his hair," Deanna says of the “life lessons” she learned from her dad while on the road.
By
Angel Saunders
and
Daniela Avila
Daniela Avila
Daniela Avila is an editorial assistant at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2021. Her work previously appeared on The Poly Post.
PEOPLE EDITORIAL GUIDELINES
Updated on February 19, 2024 08:15PM EST
James Brown, Michael Jackson, Usher. PHOTO:
GETTY; PHIL DENT/REDFERNS; AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN/FILMMAGIC
James Brown may be known as the “Godfather of Soul,” but those who knew him as “dad” are making sure his impact continues to be recognized.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE ahead of A&E’s four-part docuseries, James Brown: Say It Loud, two of his daughters, Deanna Brown and Dr. Yamma Brown, say music would not be where it is today had it not been for their father.
“There would be no hip-hop. There would be no rap, because he's the most-sampled artist,” Deanna, 55, says. “There would be no Michael [Jackson], there would be no Usher, there'd be no Chris Brown — all these people who took from him.”
View attachment 5618749
“I mean, where would it be? You could ask a lot of these musicians, they'll tell you the same thing. It would probably be zero. I think LL [Cool J] says that in the documentary that the trajectory of music would be — he can't even imagine where it would be without James Brown,” she continues.
View attachment 5618752
Referring to the "Around the Way Girl” rapper, Yamma, 52, also adds, “And I think that's the key that you get from what LL Cool J said, that it would be very different. Who knows what would've transpired?"
She notes that her late father began his career “so long ago.”
Yamma tells PEOPLE that she's "thankful" that her father — who died on Christmas Day in 2006 at the age of 73 — "created" funk and influenced other genres, "hip-hop definitely being one of them."
Yamma Brown, Adrienne Rodriguez, James Brown, and Deanna Brown Thomas; February 1992.
VINNIE ZUFFANTE/GETTY
But she said that although many musicians have been influenced by his craft, his impact extended far beyond the entertainment industry.
Yamma said, "Somebody sitting at home maybe watching it and think, ‘His story is not that dissimilar than mine and look what he went on to do.’ And if you can inspire somebody to be the greatest at what they can be, that's amazing."
She added, "I just wish he was still here to see some of this. He would not believe it. He would not believe it.”
James Brown: Say It Loud will air on A&E on Monday, Feb. 19, and Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. EST.
In it, both Yamma and Deanna fondly remember their childhood with their parents.
"I could hear him, how he talked to different people, how he wanted his business taken care of. I learned a lot while I was putting those rollers in his hair," Deanna says of the “life lessons” she learned from her dad while on the road.
