James Brown’s Daughter Says There Would Be No Hip-Hop Without Him

The daughter of singer James Brown believes there would be no hip-hop without her father.

James Brown’s Daughter Says There Would Be No Hip-Hop Without Her Iconic Dad’s Music

In an interview published by People on Monday (Feb. 19), the legendary James Brown’s daughter, Dr. Deanna Brown Thomas, joined her sister Dr. Yamma Brown to discuss James Brown: Say it Loud, A&E’s new documentary series about their father. On the subject of hip-hop culture, Deanna is of the belief that there would not be any rap music if it were not for James Brown’s music.

“There would be no hip-hop,” Dr. Deanna Brown tells People in the exclusive interview. “There would be no rap because he’s [James Brown] the most-sampled artist. There would be no Michael [Jackson], there would be no Usher, there’d be no Chris Brown—all these people who took from him.”

Deanna adds: “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.”

Read More: Pharrell Compares Mumbling Rappers to James Brown During Discussion With Flying Lotus

James Brown’s Undeniable Influence on Rap Music

While Deanna Brown’s opinion that hip-hop wouldn’t exist without her father is certainly a bold statement, James Brown’s influence on rap music is undeniable. Given the fact that Brown is one of the most prominent funk artists of all time, his music has been sampled in countless hip-hop beats throughout rap’s entire existence.

Songs like 1976’s “Get Up Offa That Thing” have been used for tracks like Kendrick Lamar’s “XXX” while Brown’s 1974 banger “Funky President (People It’s Bad)” has been sampled twice by Kanye West alone in “Clique” featuring Big Sean and Jay-Z and “F*k Sumn” with Ty Dolla $ign, Playboi Carti and Travis Scott, respectively.

James Brown’s most sampled song is 1970’s “Funky Drummer.” The immediately recognizable breakbeat serves as the driving force in some of the most well-known hip-hop tracks including Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” Dr. Dre’s “Let Me Ride” and Jaz-O’s “The Originators” featuring Jay-Z.

Read More: 22 Rappers Who Sampled James Brown’s ‘Funky Drummer’

In the video clip below, check out a sneak peek of Deanna Brown reflecting on her life as James Brown’s daughter as part of A&E’s new documentary James Brown: Say it Loud. 

Watch a Sneak Preview of Deanna Brown’s Appearance on A&E’s James Brown: Say it Loud Documentary