Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius)

This fascinating look into the musical career of Sly Stone. The genius gets overused, but it should be applied to Stone, a DJ, arranger, producer, songwriter, and performer. His Family Stone is one of the few projects that was wildly inventive and insanely catchy. And the reification of a specific social ideal of unity that transcended pablum. Yet, the pressure of success, the increasing availability of drugs, and the special burden placed on Black artists (too successful - you're not legit, not successful enough - you out) led to Sly becoming a parody of himself. While the film doesn't shy away from the downside, there is more disturbing material that could have been included. Those stories have been told, and it is time to focus on a particular moment in music history that was defined by Sly.

Wow! Absolutely phenomenal storytelling of the rise, fall and everlasting impact of the musical genius, Sly Stone! This documentary poses the question, is Black Genius a burden? That is, did society's attempt to pigeonhole Sly Stone to be THE SPOKESPERSON/CELEBRITY for the Black community, who is expected to align to the Black struggle/issues, create inner turmoil that led to Sly Stone's emotional and physical breakdown and musical retreat. Some of those interviewed think that may have been the case. White artists, on the other hand, have freedom to experiment with different musical genres and different personas (think David Bowie/ Ziggy Stardust), and Madonna (and her many reincarnations), without having to walk this line of aligning their celebrity/music to be THE-SPOKESPERSON for their communities. Thus, did this duality become a burden that contributed to Sly's insecurities, drug-fueled lifestyle and ultimate downfall? Questlove does a great job of trying to answer the question and highlighting Sly Stone's musical genius. He documents his rise from a San Francisco DJ to a true trailblazer in forming a multi- racial, male/female band that fuses, rock, R&B, and the Brits sound. Questlove opens the vault and presents a treasure of archival tapes and interviews with Sly Stone and his band. And there are plenty of current interviews with the band members and musical artists who have been heavily influenced by Sly Stone. It's evident Sly will and has had a lasting impression on the world of music and many musical protégés, including Prince and many rappers, who are still sampling his music today. The documentary ends on a bittersweet note, as Sly Stone is shown as he is today. A frail, elderly man, who is pictured alone and with his children and grandkids. However, his music is forever. Sly Lives!

Sly Stone is an infinitely fascinating character and musician. His music will be around forever.

Qwestlove's obsession with Sly being a black genius is grating and he's projecting too much of his own outlooks instead of trying to find out and express just what Sly Stone's outlook was/is.

Most of the musicians interviewed in the doc, do not hold a candle to Sly's talent or achievements, so their opinions don't hold much weight.

The only interviews that were interesting were his band mates. And how could they not a find any of his contemporaries? How could they basically ignored his discography after Fresh? Or the quirky side projects he did.

This documentary had too much of a personal agenda that wasn't about Sly Stone. Still, the man was just that interesting that he shines through despite the negative issues.

Watched at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

I'm unfamiliar with the Sly and the Family Stone but while this documentary isn't as powerful or impactful as Summer of Soul, Questlove still shines a bright light on the soul and rock vibes with an interesting presentation and exploration of the band and what made them special. Presented with good uses of archival footage and interviews, Questlove really shows how much for his love for 60s and 70s rock and roll and the components help offer a good examination to give context to the period, the music, and the background.

The historical contexts of Black artists rising through the early times have been impactful with todays' culture and Questlove does it well. Compared to Summer of Soul, the impactful doesn't feel as strong as because Sly and the Family Stone isn't a band I know a lot, the connection and emotional bond doesn't feel as strong as I would have liked and found myself feeling a bit disconnected with some of the concepts and themes.

Nevertheless, Questlove offers another solid documentary musical character study.

This is better than nothing of course and I must say that if it wasn't for quest love, this documentary probably wouldn't have been made. At the same time he ruined to some degree what could've been a stellar documentary. Quest love's personal theory about the burden of being a black genius, doesn't make any sense nor was it needed. Especially when you're trying to push the narrative that Sly was one of the first people to undergo it publicly as if Little Richard and James Brown and Chuck Berry didn't exist. There's a case to be made that the directors views completely contradict that of sly stone and you can clearly see that there's a clash there. I pray to God, someone comes along, and does a better documentary where Sly is telling his own story. The idea that black artists deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labor and die with their kids around them while plenty ignoring that those same black artists were irresponsible with their money and chose drugs over being responsible parents, is trick knowledge.