Given that samples of James Brown records constitute the very foundations of hip-hop, then in theory it wouldn't seem to be necessary to update the Godfather's sound one whit to help him score a hit record within the rap community.
Yet 1992's Universal James is just that -- a slick, ultra-commercial update of the James Brown aesthetic, complete with pale hip-hop beats which themselves are merely watered-down imitations of Brown's own groundbreaking peak material.
From the opening track "Can't Get Any Harder" onward, the songs strain for rap credibility; instead of allowing Brown to find his own groove, the production constricts him, tailoring the music to what were the moment's prevailing trends.
As a consequence, Universal James sounded dated within moments of its release.
Time has not been any kinder.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Can't Get Any HarderRobert Clivillés, David Cole, Brian Higgins, Duran Ramos, Trevor Smith | James Brown | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Just Do ItHay Browne, Beresford Romeo | James Brown | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Mine All MineHay Browne, Beresford Romeo | James Brown | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Watch MeHay Browne, Beresford Romeo | James Brown | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Georgia-LinaJames Brown, Sweet Charles Sherrell | James Brown | Play | 04:50 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Show Me Your FriendsHay Browne, Beresford Romeo | James Brown | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Everybody's Got a ThangJames Brown | James Brown | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | How LongHay Browne, Beresford Romeo | James Brown | Play | 05:29 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Make It Funky 2000James Brown | James Brown | Play | 04:57 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | MomentsHay Browne, Beresford Romeo | James Brown | Play | 08:04 | 18 MB | 0 MB |
| 49 mins | 112 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamya Al-Mughiery | Vocals (Background) |
| 2 | Alisa Anderson | Vocals (Background) |
| 3 | Gary Barnacle | Saxophone |
| 4 | James Brown | Arranger, Art Direction, Composer, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 5 | Hay Browne | Composer |
| 6 | Ian D. Clarke | Engineer |
| 7 | Robert Clivillés | Arranger, Composer, Editing, Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 8 | David Cole | Arranger, Composer, Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 9 | Ricky Crespo | Editing, Producer, Programming |
| 10 | Eugene Eugenius Ellis | Engineer, Mixing |
| 11 | Luis M. Fernández | Design |
| 12 | Alan Friedman | Programming |
| 13 | Michelle Harbord | Design |
| 14 | Greg Harewood | Bass |
| 15 | Doug Haverty | Art Direction |
| 16 | Brian Higgins | Composer |
| 17 | Martha High-Harvin | Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Michael Hunter | Trumpet |
| 19 | Carl James | Bass |
| 20 | Luis Jardim | Percussion |
| 21 | Jazzie B. | Producer |
| 22 | Richard Joseph | Engineer |
| 23 | Acar S. Key | Engineer |
| 24 | Leaders of the New School | Drums, Guest Artist, Rap |
| 25 | Howard Lovett | Engineer |
| 26 | Tony Matthew | Engineer |
| 27 | Basil Meade | Vocals (Background) |
| 28 | Cynthia Morey | Vocals (Background) |
| 29 | Will Mowat | Arranger, Keyboards, Programming |
| 30 | Johnny Musso | Executive Producer |
| 31 | Glenn Nightingale | Guitar |
| 32 | St. Clair Pinckney | Guest Artist |
| 33 | Q-Unique | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 34 | Duran Ramos | Composer, Drums, Guest Artist, Rap |
| 35 | Beresford Romeo | Composer |
| 36 | Michael "Bami" Rose | Flute, Saxophone |
| 37 | Lisa Rushton | Vocals (Background) |
| 38 | Charles Sweet Sherell | Producer |
| 39 | Sweet Charles Sherrell | Composer, Producer |
| 40 | Trevor Smith | Composer |
| 41 | Henry Tenyue | Trombone |
| 42 | Patrick Tenyue | Trumpet |
| 43 | Trilogy | Rap |
| 44 | Dan Wilensky | Saxophone |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |