After the massive success of his directorial debut, Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), multi-award-winning filmmaker and musician, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson returns with a gem of a sophomore feature: Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), a refreshing exploration of the life of musical great Sly Stone and his band, Sly and the Family Stone. The documentary is particularly welcome in this current cinematic climate of numerous artist-authorized autobiographical portraits and affable biopics. These latest films about musicians or bands have been rather safe, with directors remaining careful not to ruffle any feathers.
It's not that Questlove stirs up controversy or criticizes his subject, it's that he doesn't shy away from anything disturbing and unpleasant. Sly Lives! offers a captivating deep dive into the career and legacy of Sly and the Family Stone, providing audiences with a respectful and profound good-bad-and-the-ugly edition. Using a wealth of archival materials together with a vividly edited montage strategy of talking heads (from both current and previously recorded interviews) and a generous flavouring of Sly's music, Questlove paints a valuable portrait of an artist and his collaborators.
Sylvester Stewart (aka Sly Stone) is a DJ, music producer and musician who became the leader of Sly and the Family Stone. He and the band became musical sensations as their mix of funk, R&B, soul, rock and psychedelia created some of the classic hits of the late 1960s into the early '70s. They achieved the pinnacle of success in spite of the band's "controversial" mix mix of Black and white members, and men and women.
As the creative force behind the band, and no doubt due to his own charming persona, Sly became a mainstream superstar, something unprecedented for a Black artist at that time. The band not only topped the charts along with mega stars of rock music (read: white) but they graced the covers of magazines like Rolling Stone — they even appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show a few short years after the Beatles. The footage of Sly and his sister Rose dancing in the aisles of that predominately white audience is not unknown but remains legendary, occupying an important place in the film. Everyone was having fun, the band was a hit across all audiences, but it was the intensity of this success that was so extraordinary.
Questlove has so far made a career of diving into the music documentary genre to explore its wider reaching possibilities. By situating his subject in a greater context, he uses the music and the era to engage in a larger discussion that extends into social, historical and cultural realms. In Summer of Soul, he unearthed an essentially buried historical event, a series of musical performances by some of the titans of the day at the Harlem Cultural Festival and explored the reasons and the consequences behind the fact that it remained largely unknown until his film.
Similarly, Questlove provides the key to his cinematic modus operandi in this film's subtitle: "The Burden of Black Genius." He examines Sly's music and influence with an eye to investigating the historical context in which he operated, taking it a step further to ask whether Black artists, in general, experience an added burden when it came to behaving in certain ways. Does that still apply now?
He engages a host of musicians to discuss the issues: everyone from Chaka Khan, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, George Clinton and Nile Rodgers to Q-Tip, Andre 3000 and D'Angelo. The question is multifaceted, and complex and the interviewees provide a rich range of insights and commentaries; a wealth of perspectives and follow up questions emerging from this one question.
Not only do these musicians tussle with this issue in these candid and affecting interviews, but they engage in the most enlightening discussions about Sly's music as well. Although the interviewees' conversations are filmed separately, there are times Questlove magically transforms them to appear as a unified group on-screen as they deep dive into each song. Questlove's lively editing makes this a dynamic dialogue. It's a fascinating lesson for the viewer about what can make a song so affecting and their insights linger in the mind after.
As the film charts the history of Sly the individual together with the rise of his band, Questlove actually pauses on certain songs and their impact in that time. This is what makes this film so effective: he brings in his interviewees (past and present) to expand on these considerations. The various voices chime in to speak of how a song, "Stand," for example, affected them when they heard it, and to further explain the musical and social implications of the timing of its release. Being musicians though, they can't help but launch into how a particular turn that the song takes is so brilliant musically. This moment is an absolute pleasure to watch.
It's both fun and enlightening to hear how each individual emphasizes the smallest aspect – the horn here, this riff there – to create a lively music appreciation session. In particular, it's a marvel to listen and watch Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis recall with such joy how they were so inspired by a piece of a guitar riff in "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)," they sampled it, played with it and eventually used use it as the foundation for Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation."
Sly appears in the film to speak for himself only through past interviews, which will bother some; but he does get the last word. The film returns to an old interview, obviously shot after he went through a lot of his troubles, that Questlove weaves together with interviews of friends and family and footage of Sly's public failures. Through these clips, viewers can surmise why Sly doesn't appear in the documentary outside of the archives. After his problems with drug use, his jail time and tax problems, Sly remains famously reclusive; even for an interview with Time magazine promoting his 2023 memoir Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), he answered questions via email.
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) delivers an invaluable appreciation of the career and legacy of Sly Stone. He may be a musical genius but, in the end, especially thanks to the insights of his family, friends and fans, this film reminds us that behind the genius exists a fallible human being, a simple person with a tremendous gift, someone to whom we can all relate at least on some level.
Questlove goes beyond reconstructing history in order to actualize valuable lessons that remain relevant for current artists and fans. He's thorough in his efforts to build a case that Sly didn't have a role model or a blueprint, and in the act of filmmaking, he creates, at least, the beginnings of one.
Sly Lives!'s greatest accomplishment is that it confirms Sly's legacy will live on through the discussions the film engenders, ensuring our participation in its preservation.
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 23 to February 2 in-person in Utah and online. Get information about tickets and screening at Sundance's website.