Ron Isley x The Roots perform The Isley Brothers "It's Your Thing" live on Jimmy Fallon
Ron Isley of pioneering soul outfit The Isley Brothers sat in with The Roots last night on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and just to get things warmed up properly, the Legend and the Legendary socked it to the studio audience with a live rendition of The Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing"--one of the most classic funk drum break/bassline combinations of all time, by the way. In fact I was just listening to that jawn day before yesterday--the Lou Donaldson instrumental version, that is, (think Brand Nubian's "Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down" and Super Cat's "Ghetto Red Hot" remix by Salaam Remi, not to mention De La Soul's "Bitties In The BK Lounge" the one that started it all) and then Ron Isley parachuted in to the Fallon set like a R&B genie emerging from the bottle on a column of purple smoke, to make my breakbeat dreams a living, breathing reality. There's really nothing like The Roots going in on a monster break with the original vocalist sitting in to bridge the generation gap--except maybe Black Thought throwing in some "revolution sureshot" ad-libs on the star-time introduction. Press play to enjoy below and support the continuation of Isley-ness in the world and purchase Ron Isley's new single "This Song is For You" here (via iTunes). As we continue on.
