Street vendors were selling James Brown mixtapes. His countenance was on every T-shirt. It was here at the hub of the great neighborhood of Harlem, at America’s premier showcase for Black music ...

he performed hits like “Get Up Offa That Thing,” “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” and “Sex Machine.” Listen to James Brown’s 1977 show in its entirety below via the Paste archives.

James Brown probably had to sing his 1968 hit “Say It Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud” for a lot of white people over the years. Nowadays, there’s something especially perplexing about ...