"Unity" is a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

recorded by Afrika Bambaataa and James Brown as a duet in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. 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 Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

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 Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

-generated

timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musica ...

s of electro. The song's rapped

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...

are on the themes of "Peace, unity, love, and having fun". The single charted #87 R&B. "Unity" contains several references to Brown's earlier recordings. The song's a cappella opening paraphrases the beginning of his 1970 songs " Get Up, Get Into It and Get Involved", "

Soul Power "Soul Power" is a song by James Brown. Brown recorded it with the original J.B.'s (plus Fred Wesley) and it was released as a three-part single in 1971. Like "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and other hits from this period it features ...

" and an instrumental passage in the middle of part 1 is borrowed from his 1969 hit "

Give It Up or Turnit a Loose "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" is a funk song recorded by James Brown. Released as a single in 1969, the song was a #1 R&B hit and also made the top 20 pop singles chart. "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" appeared as an instrumental on the ''Ain't ...

Music video

A videotape was shot of the vocal recordings of the song in Studio A at

Unique Recording Studios Unique Recording Studios was a five-room recording studio operating near Times Square in New York City from 1978 until 2004. Founders and co-owners Bobby Nathan and Joanne Georgio-Nathan installed the first Otari 24-track tape deck in New York. ...

, NYC. The tape was given to

Fred Seibert Frederick (Fred) Seibert (born September 15, 1951) is an American television producer, co-founder of MTV and the CEO of FredFilms, an animation production company based in Burbank, California. His official biography states he has led five (working ...

and

Alan Goodman Alan Goodman runs branding and communications for, and is a founder of, TESTD Inc., a company that builds health and wellness data management products for providers, individuals, enterprises, and municipalities. He is a former American media e ...

of Fred/Alan Inc. to make into an inexpensive

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

. The team worked with their in-house producer/

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Tom Pomposello Tom Pomposello (July 17, 1949 – January 25, 1999) was an American roots musician, notably playing and recording with country blues musician Mississippi Fred McDowell, who also worked as a cable television and advertising producer for clients like ...

and creative director Marcy Brafman and Peter Caesar to create the video. The video entered rotation on MTV in mid-October 1984.

Personnel

* James Brown - co-lead vocal * Afrika Bambaataa - co-lead vocal * "Chops" - horns * Brian Banks- keyboards *

Anthony Marinelli Anthony Marinelli (born March 19, 1959) is an American musician, composer and conductor. In his early career, he composed and performed accompaniment on the synthesizer for albums including Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'' (1983). Marinelli ha ...

- keyboards * Robin Halpin - keyboards *

Skip McDonald Skip McDonald (born Bernard Alexander, September 1949) Allmusic biography/ref> is an American musician who also performs under the stage name Little Axe. Career Early career Grounded in blues music learned from his father, a steel worker who ...

- guitar *

Doug Wimbish Douglas Arthur Wimbish (born September 22, 1956) is an American bass player, primarily known for being a member of rock band Living Colour and funk/dub/hip hop collective Tackhead, and as a session musician with artists such as Sugarhill Gang ...

- bass *

Keith LeBlanc Keith LeBlanc is an American drummer and record producer, and is a member of the bands Little Axe and Tackhead. His record " No Sell Out" was one of the first sample-based releases. The song was a success, charting at No. 60 on the UK Singles ...

- drumsLeeds, Alan, and Harry Weinger (1991). "Star Time: Song by Song". In ''Star Time'' (pp. 46–53) D booklet New York: PolyGram Records.

12" version

A six-part version of "Unity" was released as a 12" record: # Unity (Part 1: The Third Coming) - 3:20 # Unity (Part 2: Because It's Coming) - 3:20 # Unity (Part 3: Nuclear Wildstyle) - 3:29 # Unity (Part 4: Can You See It) - 6:47 # Unity (Part 5: The Light) - 4:15 # Unity (Part 6: World War 3) - 2:44

References

External links

* Review of the ''Unity'' 12"from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

{{James Brown singles James Brown songs 1984 singles Afrika Bambaataa songs Male vocal duets Songs written by James Brown 1984 songs Tommy Boy Records singles