They are everywhere; the internets are literally littered with farewells, remembrances, tributes and praise for James Brown. There is absolutely no need to rehash any of his accomplishments here or to add yet another heartfelt paragraph about what Soulbrother #1 meant to EMERGE.

Rather, we're going to post a couple links to some JB related items out there that everyone should explore:

1. The Fader just reposted an amazing article from last year detailing a storied bootleg DVD of James Brown performing in Boston the day after Martin Luther King was assassinated. Any biography of Brown discusses his role as an icon of the civil rights era, but this anecdote illustrates the fact in a truly fascinating way.

2. Our big brother blog, Influx Insights published a pretty hilarious though incomplete listing of all the songs that sampled Brown's classic "Funky Drummer." Check it out here.

3. No great revelation to the informed listener, but the entire genre of Baltimore Club is basically built around a drum break from the Lyn Collins classic "Think" which was written by James Brown, performed by his band and released on his seminal People Records imprint. Though still just a regional sound, Baltimore Club is gaining an underground following from New York to London and beyond and many elements of its ramshackle stylistic pastiche are cropping up in big name remixes by the likes of The Neptunes.

4. Here are EMERGE's favorite James Brown records. Get thee to a store and buy them all.

The JBs "Funky Good Time": A blistering two CD set of jams performed by Brown's late 60's/early 70's supergroup, featuring the likes of Maceo Parker, Fred Westley, Bootsy Collins and Clyde Stubblefield.

"James Brown's Funky People": Covering similar territory to the "Funky Good Time" compilation, "Funky People" collects songs written, produced, arranged, and released by Brown but performed by other artists. Everyone knows "I Feel Good" but "Damn Right I Am Somebody" is as good if not better. Part 2 is also essential.

"Live At The Apollo": James Brown and his first band, the Famous Flames. Absolutely classic early-60s soul and R&B.

Star Time: The definitive James Brown box set from a few years back, this is the career spanning retrospective that really demonstrates just how incredibly talented and influential Brown has been. Plus on disc three it has EMERGE's favorite song, the proto-rap soul ballad "King Heroin." Funky beyond comprehension, poignant, and delivered as a streetcorner rhyme, it might also be the only James Brown song that mentions jews. One thing is certain however, "King Heroin" stands in stark contrast to Brown's late 80's run-ins with the law over his longstanding abuse of PCP. Check out "King Heroin" here

Future Shock was Brown's shortlived version of Soul Train, which aired only in the Atlanta, Georgia region. So obscure, only a couple short clips are on YouTube, there are bootleg copies of this program out there and boy oh boy is it quality entertainment. Not only is the music funky as hell, the dancing impossibly awesome, but Brown is zooted out of his mind much of the time, making for some really compelling crap tv.

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