As someone who loves biographical documentaries, you can imagine my excitement when Hulu announced that SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) would be debuting this month. Not only is Questlove back in the director’s chair for the project, after he previously won an Oscar for his 2021 documentary Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), but the new film has Sylvester Stewart aka Sly Stone as the subject.
I’ll admit, Sly Stone and his legendary band Sly and the Family Stone is a band that predates a millennial like me, given the height of their success occurred in the 60s and 70s. However, I’m a lover of music and have been around enough family barbecues and reunions to know hits like “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People” and “Family Affair.” So going into SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), I was excited to learn about the genius behind the creativity.
Now that I’ve taken the time to watch the new film, I can say without hesitation that its 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes (as of February 18) is completely justified. In fact, I could make an argument that it deserves an even higher score as it’s one of the best documentaries I’ve seen in recent memory, and for several reasons.
First and foremost, I appreciate that the movie goes beyond just Sly’s rise and fall, and rather attempts to frame his story in the context of what it meant to be a successful Black musician leading a multiracial band during a time when racial disparity was a major factor in American culture. As the doc describes, he didn’t have much of a blueprint for how to handle that kind of success back then and there was a heavy burden on him as a man of color wanting to leave an imprint in the music industry as a whole.
Additionally, I love that Quest was able to get other members of the band to talk to discuss how the group came to be, what it was like to work with Sly and why the group ultimately came to an end. Plus, having legends like André 3000 of OutKast and Chaka Khan add their two cents on the weight of being Black in the music industry was a great touch.
Because I always try to offer a well-rounded perspective, I can say that while the film is spectacular, there are two things missing for me. For starters, I would have liked to see Sly himself speak on his life. However, after doing some research, it appears he wasn’t able to participate in the film due to health reasons, so I understand his absence.
My only other smallest of gripes is that I wish more attention was paid to the legacy of his music. More could have been said in my opinion about the artists that have sampled from him, the artists that looked to him for inspiration even if they didn't sample his work, the commercials his music has found its way in, and more importantly for me, the story surrounding the ownership of his music catalog (which appears to be owned largely by Michael Jackson's estate).
Again, SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) is certainly worth watching on Hulu. Check out this trailer should you need further convincing.
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