The P-Funk bassist was a street kid in the 60s, got his break with James Brown, then spent much of the 70s taking LSD. He talks about drugs, racism, police brutality – and the healing power of music
27 May 1985 This show was quite simply stupendous, a breathtaking display of stagecraft, musicianship and tireless professionalism, replete with thrills and humour
Classic vinyl reissues, limited collectors’ editions and unreleased recordings from Fela Kuti, Prince and David Bowie join rare pressings by the Prodigy and the Notorious BIG this Saturday
The James Brown tribute act became one of the great classic soul voices. As Daptone release his posthumous album, Ozzy Osbourne, Margo Price and more remember his talent
Christine and the Queens has been criticised for using prefabricated loops from software, rather than coming up with new sounds herself. But from Kate Bush to Kendrick Lamar, these presets are actually the foundation of modern pop
Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Stevie Wonder – Bruce W Talamon photographed them all. His images, collected in a new book, capture an era before publicists controlled their stars
As Melvin Van Peebles’ seminal score to Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song is re-released we look at the most important soundtracks from the Blaxploitation era
You get none of the credit and do a lot of the work: who’d be a drummer? Deirdre O’Callaghan asks some of the best in the world. Introduction by Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint
Périer was at the heart of the pop explosion of the 1960s, capturing homegrown stars such as Jacques Dutronc and Johnny Hallyday – along with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Miles Davis
From the Guardian archive James Brown live at Hammersmith – archive, 1985