Unity

Recorded as a duet by Bambaataa and James Brown in 1984, it was the first recording in which Brown collaborated with a performer associated with hip-hop. The title and the cover, which shows the two clasping hands, express solidarity between the two styles. The music follows the structure of Brown's late 1960s and 1970s funk but uses electro's drum machine and keyboard sounds, and the rapped lyrics are on the themes of peace, unity, love and having fun. The opening a cappella paraphrases the start of Brown's 1970 songs Get Up, Get Into It and Get Involved and Soul Power, and an instrumental passage borrows from his 1969 hit Give It Up or Turnit a Loose. The single reached 87 on the R&B chart.

Skip McDonald played guitar, Doug Wimbish bass, Keith LeBlanc drums, and Brian Banks, Anthony Marinelli and Robin Halpin keyboards. A video was shot of the vocal recording in Studio A at Unique Recording Studios in New York and the tape went to Fred Seibert and Alan Goodman of Fred/Alan Inc. The video entered rotation on MTV in mid-October 1984. The 12-inch version runs to six parts, from The Third Coming to World War 3. It was billed as the Godfather of Soul meeting the Godfather of Hip Hop.