I don’t remember watching a music documentary and fully grasping my attention. Maybe it could’ve been What Happened Miss Simone? back in 2015 about the great Nina Simone, but otherwise Sly Lives! (AKA The Burden of Black Genius) was insane! This documentary underlines the biography of Sly Stone, and of course the band that carries his name Sly and the Family Stone. Before getting into context,  I need to tip my hat towards Questlove, he did an incredible job as a director for this musical documentary. Some music documentaries can either be a hit or a miss, but it was a large hit, with lots of interviews, and clips being shown. And before watching it, I already knew some of the music from Sly and the Family Stone. I’ve got only two records from them: Greatest Hits (1970,) and There’s a Riot Goin’ On (1971.) And in a nutshell, both records are packed with non-stop funky beats, that’s all to say for now. But, I was clueless when it came to the coming of the band, and Sly’s life. It’s pretty crazy to think how this man was always willing to make music, and to go above and beyond his musical horizons. He pioneered the drum machine in which it can be heard being incorporated within Family Affair, that’s now being sampled by many dj’s these days. Sly Stone was also a disc jockey for his local radio station. Stone would go beyond his musical reach, he was always seeking for something new with a good beat to it. Although, It didn’t stop right there for him, he was also writing music for other bands, being musically vertile with any given instrument. And to each musician, he would purposely give them advice to see how they can elevate even more the music. But after watching this musical documentary, I felt as if I’ve had another musical awakening. Sly Stone’s musical creativity was on another level, where he had no fear in trying anything out. If his musical idea worked, then great! But if it didn’t, who cares! Sly was the type to not have any sort of berries where he didn’t care about colour, or race. His band was mixed, allowing him to grasp many different musical angles. But most importantly, he only cared about one thing, and it was the music. No matter what the circumstances are, Sly Stone will always be a musical legend in my book, PERIOD.