Afrika Bambaataa & James Brown – Unity
(Tommy Boy Records 1984 AFRX2)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing
Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
Lance Taylor (born on April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa, is an American DJ, rapper, and producer from the South Bronx, New York. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of hip hop culture. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the originators of breakbeat DJing.
James Joseph Brown, Jr. (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American recording artist and musician. One of the founding fathers of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century popular music and dance, he is often referred to as “The Godfather of Soul”. In a career that spanned six decades, Brown influenced the development of several music genres.
“Unity” is a song recorded by Afrika Bambaataa and James Brown as a duet in 1984. It was the first recording in which 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”. The single charted #87 R&B.
Track listing
| A1 | Unity (Part 1 – The Third Coming) | 3:20 | |
| A2 | Unity (Part 2 – Because It’s Coming) | 3:30 | |
| A3 | Unity (Part 3 – Nuclear Wildstyle) | 3:29 | |
| B1 | Unity (Part 4 – Can You See It) | 6:47 | |
| B2 | Unity (Part 5 – The Light) | 4:16 | |
| B3 | Unity (Part 6 – World III) | 2:44 |
- Arranged By [Rhythm] – Afrika Bambaataa, Doug Wimbish, Keith LeBlanc, Skip McDonald
- Art Direction – Monica Lynch
- Bass – Doug Wimbish
- Design [Jacket] – Steve Miglio
- Drums – Keith LeBlanc
- Engineer – Doug Di Franco, Frank Heller, Peter Robbins
- Engineer [Mix] – Frank Heller, Peter Robbins
- Executive-Producer – Tom Silverman
- Guitar – Skip McDonald
- Horns – Chops
- Lyrics By – Afrika Bambaataa, James Brown
- Mastered By – Herb Powers Jr., Herb Powers Jr.
- Mixed By [Assistant] – Mike Nicoletti, Steve Griffin
- Photography By – Annie Leibovitz
- Producer [Assistant], Arranged By [Horn] – Robin Halpin
- Producer, Mixed By – Afrika Bambaataa, Tom Silverman
- Synthesizer – Anthony Marinelli, Brian Banks, Robin Halpin
- Written-By – B Aasim, B. Alexander, D. Wimbish, J. Brown, K. LeBlanc, R. Halpin*
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