Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)

• Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
• January 23, 2025 (Sundance Film Festival) / February 13, 2025 (Hulu and Disney+)

It explores the life, career, and legacy of Sly and the Family Stone.

Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) is the story first of all of a man whose music has been a part of so much even if you don’t realize it. One of the things I learned was just how many songs of Sly and the Family Stone I knew but didn’t know came from the group or the man. This film focuses on his talent and general ability plus his showmanship and how that not only led to his success but his eventual downfall.

Director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson focuses on the highs and lows of fame to show how a man with great ability and a natural charisma via fame let drugs destroy all that. Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart) would pull an Axl Rose before Axl Rose and by the end of his heyday disregarded his fans by showing up late to concerts if he showed up at all.

Sly (still alive and occasionally performing) is a multi-talented individual. He has been a radio DJ and record producer and music performer all with a high level of success. It shows how the beginnings of his life prepped him to create music that was almost instantly successful and like nothing before it.

Of course how influential he was is discussed but that influence gets shortchanged. If he was this giant then dive into that like a kid in a candy store! The best we get is how the drums from one song were sampled for the hit Rhythm Nation. The rest of the film we are asked to trust that statement. The assumption is that Andre 3000, D’Angelo, Chaka Khan, Q-Tip, Nile Rodgers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, George Clinton, Ruth Copeland and Clive Davis (all appearing in Sly Lives!) learned something from him but we never get what that something was.

Whether you noticed it or not we see he wasn’t just into making cool music. His music often had something to say depending on the era and his feelings but he slipped it into beats that got past any mental defenses. Sometimes though, whether Questlove intended it to say this or not, that good music drowned out the very message.

If I had any major complaints about this it is that questions that should be asked of Sly or even other individuals are asked of people who have only secondhand knowledge or can only offer opinions. There is also the distinct lack of Sly being asked a single question or offering a minuscule snippet. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but only using archival interviews? They get some of his children (I don’t know how many he has) but nobody could get one comment from him?

Questlove and others interviewed try to put the blame for some of his issues on others rather than Sly himself. Then again people often do that when they are discussing their idol. Questlove cannot detach himself enough to be appropriately dispassionate.

This ends on a positive note. Sly seems to have made peace with most if not all of his children and come to a point of stability in his life. I went into this a bit ignorant on the topic and for me the hook was waiting to see how his life ended or was like this day depending.

Between the great music and the interviews Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) is a fantastic watch. It could have been improved but is not terrible.