Questlove will be shooting an upcoming documentary about funk titan Sly Stone that MRC Non-Fiction announced today. Common will serve as executive producer on the film. The project does not yet have a title or release date.
In a press release, Questlove said, “It’s not just saying that Sly’s creative legacy is in my DNA…. It’s a black musician’s blueprint…. Having the honor of researching its history and legacy is not a dream for me. “
Sly Stone co-founded Sly and Family Stone in San Francisco in 1966, and the group immediately stood out for their inventive funk music, which blended soul and R&B with psychedelic rock. While the band was massively successful and changed the landscape of pop music with their innovation, Sly Stone struggled with drug abuse that ruined decades of his later artistic career. He lived in a motor home in the early 2010s, but more recently has struggled to get back millions in royalties.
Another Sly Stone documentary was slated to premiere in 2019, but this film has yet to be realized. Michael Jackson’s estate acquired the rights to the Sly and Family Stone catalogs that same year.
Questlove premiered his directorial debut Summer of Soul (… or, if the Revolution couldn’t be televised), a documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, at Sundance earlier this month. The film won the festival’s prestigious Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award and will eventually appear on Hulu.
Visit “Sly’s Ice Cold Genius In 10 Late Great Songs” in the square again.