James Chance

The prime architect of downtown NYC punk-funk, James Chance (also known as James White), applied the skewed aesthetic of the burgeoning late-1970s, early-'80s New York art-punk/new-wave scene to the syncopated rhythms of James Brown. From his carefully crafted hairdo to his vocal exhortations, Chance was like a funhouse-mirror image of Brown. Adding to the willful dementia was the avant-garde edge provided by Chance's sax and organ work, informed more by free jazz than by funk. Chance took on the Brown legacy head-first, and his manic, punky energy proved a surprisingly workable replacement for the Godfather of Soul's funky mastery.