A trailer for the highly-anticipated movie about pioneering Sly & The Family Stone founder Sly Stone has been released. Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) was directed by Roots drummer and Tonight Show bandleader Questlove, and will begin streaming via Hulu on February 13.
According to a press release issued by Hulu, the film will examine "the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone, the groundbreaking band led by the charismatic and enigmatic Sly Stone. The film captures the band’s rise, reign and subsequent fadeout while shedding light on the unseen burden that comes with success for Black artists in America."
"It [the film] goes beyond saying that Sly’s creative legacy is in my DNA," said Questlove in 2021. "It’s a black musician’s blueprint. To be given the honour to explore his history and legacy is beyond a dream for me.”
Sly Stone emerged with 1967‘s Dance To The Music, demolishing socio-cultural boundaries by mixing funk with psychedelia and rock. Triumph at 1969's Woodstock festival put him on the road to becoming one of the first major rock stars of the early 1970s, but battles with mental health and addiction would slow his trajectory.
Multiple attempts to revive Stone's musical career faltered and failed. His most recent release, the 2011 solo album I'm Back! Family & Friends, was his first since 1975, and contained just three new songs. The last interview he gave was in 2007, although he surprised many by publishing a memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), in 2023.
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) features interviews with Andre 3000, D’Angelo, Chaka Khan, Q-Tip, Nile Rogers, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, George Clinton, Ruth Copeland and Clive Davis, as well as band and family members.
