James Brown earned the name “The Godfather of Soul” thanks to his undeniable contribution to the evolution of a particular musical styling.  But when people call you “The Godfather” of anything, it connotes a sense of respect and power.  As such, artist Clarence James pays tribute to “The Godfather of Soul” though lyrics to the song The Payback where Brown lets it be known that he is not a man to be taken lightly.  In fact, should you cross him, there is a serious price to be paid.  Whether it’s revenge for some personal “backstabbin” or ruthlessly demanding excellence from his talented band members, Brown was a force to be reckoned with.  By using grainy black and white collaged images of James Brown defying gravity and caught in a moment of abstracted musical rapture, the artist portrays his subject with a kind of superhuman, superstar quality.  And the bleached sepia tone palette is drained of color as if to strip the story down to its essentials: James Brown is “The Godfather”.  Plain and simple. 

One of the reasons James Brown is who he is, is because no one writes a sonic love letter about the awesomeness of a woman in a pair of hot pants better than him.   Brown’s ode to Hot Pants is not flowery or mysterious; it’s about as “tell it like it is” as you can get.  The song’s dynamite funky beat scorches lines like “The girl over there with the hot pants on, Filthy macnasty all night long. Get down hu! The one over there with the mini dress, ha! I ain't got time - I still dig that mess. Get down!”.  Artist Rob Croxford’s photorealistic style presents a weathered, neon lit, graffiti-tagged vintage sign in order to capture the soul of the kind of establishment that would be the perfect residence for some sexy hot pants and all they deliver to a watchful eye like that of James Brown.  

One of James Brown’s most beloved songs isn’t about sex.  It’s about revenge.  The Payback tells the story about betrayal and getting even with those who have done you wrong.  True to the spirit of the song, artist Niki Hare pulls no punches in her tribute to “The Big Payback” as she channels pure and raw aggressive energy into her canvas.  With punishing brushstrokes and angry paint splatter, the scene oozes with violence.  Writ large across the scene, the artist’s imposing and threatening gold and silver metallic lettering mimics the energy of Brown’s defining high pitch screams, and makes it known that revenge is serious business! 

For those who found the kind of genuine love that touches you deep in your core, you know there’s nothing quite like the feeling.  Throughout the ages, artists have found interesting ways to express that special feeling, and James Brown added his unique funky spin to the canon.  As always, Brown’s power comes from the simplicity of his lyrics  and for artist Miles Regis, the line “So Good, So Good, I got you” from “I Feel Good”, serves as inspiration for his portrait of two lovers, eyes locked, bodies pressed tightly in a magical moment of surprise, playfulness, generosity and romance.  The artist’s signature use of a tapestry of colorful fabrics to make up his figures adds depth to the story of two complex souls with individuality and personal history, sharing the good feeling of gratitude for love.    

James Brown’s 1966 composition “It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World”, is commonly thought of as a story about the give and take relationship between two lovers; a man makes things to provide, but all his work would mean nothing without the intangibles that his woman adds to the mix.   Artist Bart Cooper sees the interdependent relationship with a different spin.  With open ears and an artist’s soul, Cooper hears the song as a loving, nurturing relationship between a father and daughter.  Suddenly, and brilliantly, the story unfolds with even bigger heart and soul, as the scene illuminates a new narrative using golden earth tones that feel like warm sunshine on those summer days we remember as children.  The image of a young Black teenage girl (clearly a fan of James Brown), sitting crosslegged on her dad’s powerful GTO muscle car, smelling a bouquet of flowers that her father gave her to enjoy, is something so endearing that you will likely never hear the song in any other light from now on.  The 1960’s transistor radio in her lap is most certainly playing the hits of the day, which would include some of her favorite James Brown songs like “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and “Say It Loud! (I’m Black And I’m Proud).  The car with South Caroline plates offers a few more breadcrumbs to munch on in this heartfelt tribute.  

“Try Me” was released in 1958 and was a #1 hit on the R&B charts, and marked the first time James Brown and The Famous Flames had a song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  This soulful ballad and others like it, reveal a side of Brown that serves as a counterpoint to Brown’s wilder, flashy side, and showcases a major part of Brown’s talent as a songwriter and singer.  Artist Rich Bollinger sees “sensitive” and “wild” as two sides of the same James Brown coin.  As such, the narrative in his surrealistic scene is infused with the idea that a person can be seductive and dangerous at the same time.  Flipping the story a bit, the artist presents a sexy femme fatale protagonist, who, armed with a cigarette in one hand and a pistol in the other, invites the viewer to “try me”.  The word “REWARD”, oversized and crimson red, hovers like a threat over a bullseye, offering a wonderful surrealistic riddle to explore.  Finally, the image of two hearts, fragile, bloody and beating, brings the prospect of love down from heaven to the real world below where things like guns and betrayal can do real damage. Try Me. What’s the worst that could happen?    

Later in James Brown’s career, it’s fair to say he had lived a big life and seen a lot.  The pressures of staying on top must have gotten to him because Brown made some life decisions that suggest he had lost his focus.  The 1985 single “Living In America” was Brown’s first Top 40 hit in ten years on the US pop charts, and it would also be his last.  The song was written by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight, but there is little doubt it wouldn’t have been a hit without James Brown.  Who can forget his performance in Rocky IV as Apollo Creed enters the ring? Artist Filippo Fiumani is from Portugal and has never lived in America, but his style is heavily influenced by the American, skate, surf, punk scene.  His homage to “Living In America” reads like a personal tribute to a chapter in American culture that influenced his creative world view.  Like a funk-infused Basquiat dream, the scene explodes with vibrant color and expressionistic characters who look like they jumped off the pages of the James Brown songbook.     

Throughout his career, James Brown charted 90 songs on the Hot 100 list, but the song “I Got You (I Feel Good)” was Brown’s biggest hit.  Catchy lines such as “nice, like sugar and spice” became hallmarks of the songwriter’s popular canon.  However, his ability to shift from sweet love songs to his bolder, lust-filled, sex-on-the-brain compositions is something he could navigate with ease.  When it came to sexualized storytelling tone, James Brown seemed to know when to use the feather of a chicken and when to use the whole darn chicken!  Artist Sofia Simoes creates a diptych to show this masterful balance; one side paying tribute to “sugar and spice” and the other “stays on the scene like a sex machine”.  Together, the two euphoric female dancing figures show us that both sides of James Brown are all right with them.  The surrounding collage images represent the spirit of Brown during the high times while he was at the top of his game.  The life story of James Brown is long and sometimes very dark and complicated.  But at one time, James Brown was on top of world and it felt very good indeed.  

Throughout his career, James Brown charted 90 songs on the Hot 100 list, but the song “I Got You (I Feel Good)” was Brown’s biggest hit.  Catchy lines such as “nice, like sugar and spice” became hallmarks of the songwriter’s popular canon.  However, his ability to shift from sweet love songs to his bolder, lust-filled, sex-on-the-brain compositions is something he could navigate with ease.  When it came to sexualized storytelling tone, James Brown seemed to know when to use the feather of a chicken and when to use the whole darn chicken!  Artist Sofia Simoes creates a diptych to show this masterful balance; one side paying tribute to “sugar and spice” and the other “stays on the scene like a sex machine”.  Together, the two euphoric female dancing figures show us that both sides of James Brown are all right with them.  The surrounding collage images represent the spirit of Brown during the high times while he was at the top of his game.  The life story of James Brown is long and sometimes very dark and complicated.  But at one time, James Brown was on top of world and it felt very good indeed.  

Of James Brown's 91 hits to reach the Billboard Hot 100, "I Got You (I Feel Good)" is Brown's highest-charting song. In 2000, the hit reached No. 21 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs in Rock and Roll and No. 75 on VH1's 100 Greatest Dance Songs, one of only seven songs to make both lists. In 2004, "I Got You (I Feel Good)" was ranked No. 78 on Ro lling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.  Artist MR FREEZE pays tribute to this epic tune through his digital re-imagination of a classic image of James Brown as a young rising star.  Colorizing the original black and white photograph with vibrant red and dashes of purple, the artist elevates the iconic image to the stratospheric realm of Andy Warhol and his print screening of famous figures like Elvis, Marilyn and Mao.  The song is so loved by fans world-wide that it was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame.  MR FREEZE honors the lofty lyrics by printing them overtop the image like some sacred text to be worshipped by a cult of personality. 

For artist Niki Hare, painted words are the means with which she expresses emotions and story.  In her tribute to James Brown’s song “Get Up”, she weaves her trademark stencil lettering with staggered handwritten words to create a sense of movement between text and ideas.  The effect is deliberate and amusing as the artist makes it feel like the words are dancing while delivering their inspiring message: “Get up offa that thing, and dance till you feel better”.  Famously know as “the hardest working man in show business, Brown had zero tolerance for laziness from those around him.  His call to action to get up and dance those blues away is echoed visually by Niki who uses a shockingly vibrant color palette of deep purples, pinks, reds, and gold (a nod to Brown’s legendary wardrobe), delivering a delirious and funky “GET UP!” slap in the face. 

There’s something honest and poetic about a wall that has been tagged with random graffiti.  Different artistic voices merge together in a chaotic harmony of creative expression, all of which somehow tell the story of a singular time and place in culture and history.  In artist Aaron Stansberry’s abstract tribute to the songwriting of James Brown, the mixture of lines from various songs throughout Brown’s career assemble together like a graffiti wall that hints at the rich story of a lifetime of legendary songwriting.  The words appear and disappear like a figure moving through heavy fog, as if daring the viewer to decode some kind of cosmic riddle.   What insight are we supposed to glean from clues like “I feel good”, “sex machine”, “say it loud” and “won’t somebody ease this pain”? Best advice: Listen. Dance. Think. And dance again.  Perhaps ALL might not be revealed, but you’ll know everything you need to know. 

The iconic image of James Brown in a white jumpsuit doing an airborne splits that defies gravity, captures the essence of this funky superstar like no other.  Brown is legendary for his otherworldly dance moves that were imitated by countless superstars including Mick Jagger, Prince, and Michael Jackson.  Backed by one of the tightest, grooviest bands in history, James Brown’s sweat-soaked performances raised the bar for what a rock concert could be.  Artist JD Shultz employs his trademark paint on both sides of plexiglas style to create a 3D effect that seems to lift the image off its surface.  The magical effect gives a sense of flight to the soaring figure in mid leap.  The words “Make It Funky” is another one of Brown’s classic calls to action.  And just in case there’s some confusion, his infectious groove and phenomenal dance moves showed fans what making it funky is all about.  

To say that James Brown loved women is an understatement.  James Brown REALLY loved women.  But it wasn’t always about sex. Yes, most of the time it was about sex, but in one special song in particular, Brown lays his feelings bare and sings about how much he values and respects the important women in his life.  In the song “It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World”, Brown’s machismo leads the way as he lays out all the things a man does to make the world go ‘round.  But despite all that, “it don’t mean nothing without a woman or a girl”.  The final line really says it all with the most poignant and desperate message of the whole story: Without a woman or a girl, a man is “lost in the wilderness, He’s lost in bitterness, he's lost lost”.   Artist Aaron Stansberry sketches out the lyrics to the entire song using his trademark handwritten text, burying the clarity in layers upon layers of brushstrokes.  The deep blues and blacks set the tone of the desperation in a forest of illegible words where the messenger wanders lost, lost in a wilderness of bitterness.