It's Got to Be Funky

The story of twentieth-century American music—what really happened, and how and why—from the right-hand man to James Brown, Prince, and D’Angelo, among others.

Alan Leeds is one of the most important figures in Black music, which might sound surprising given he’s a Jewish kid from Queens. You may not know him, but he knows everyone. For half a century, in at least three discrete artistic eras, he has been central to the way that Black music (from soul to funk to neo-soul to hip-hop) has been made, marketed, and toured. His long career in the business has given him a unique perspective, and It's Got to Be Funky—both a tale of a life lived near fame and a chronicle of the evolution of popular music, told through stories and loaded with insights— illuminates all that he’s learned.

Leeds began his career working with James Brown in 1969. In 1983, after a brief spell working with KISS, he signed on with an unproven up-and-coming funk musician named Prince, with whom he worked throughout his rise and commercial and critical peak. From there, Leeds went on to work with the likes of Maxwell, Raphael Saadiq, and D’Angelo and the Soulquarians (where he crossed paths with, among many others, Questlove). As a music manager, his taste was peerless. As a writer, Leeds is a natural storyteller with a steady hand, a clear eye, and plenty of material. There are few people better positioned to chronicle one of the most important art forms in American history.