Bootsy Collins Is All About Unification This Christmas
All Bootsy Collins wants for Christmas is unification and peace.
In times when the world appears to be falling off of its axis, the legendary bassist is doing what he can to keep it upright. Bootsy is sharing his new funked-out Christmas single, “Boot-A-Claus / Here 4-A-Reason,” featuring his network of artists: Fantaazma, Baby Triggy, Gary G7 Jenkins and Dreion.
The single is a part of his forthcoming 2023 compilation Funk Not Fight, also serving as an ongoing initiative. In 2006, he released his Christmas Is 4 Ever album, a body of work that serves as a muse to create more holiday-inspired music.
“I just figured it was time to do something new for Christmas,” Bootsy tells BET.com. “I had such a great time recording that album and every Christmas that goes by, I’m like ‘dag man, I wish I had done a Christmas song.’ I just felt like this was the right time to do it, with Covid and everyone stuck in the house, so I just started putting the music together.”
Bootsy, 71, remembers a time when he was the “young one” in his music circle. There’s a specific aura that his network of rappers, poets, singers, artists, and instrumentalists are bringing to the table and are inspiring his latest creations.
“That kind of energy is the kind I feel I need now. I’ve been tapping into it. I’m learning from them and they’re learning from me. It’s just an all-around good vibe. I reach out to new and different artists and they reach out to me. I love that as opposed to being in a certain group. I can be with just about anybody now. It’s a good feeling to link up with people who aren’t on the radar. I just love being tied into talented people that don’t get any kind of play or recognition for what they’re doing. I was one of those people and I’ll always be that person, no matter how much success I obtain. I know how that feels.”
Bootsy sees himself in the new artists. During his time as a bassist for the late and great James Brown, he took that opportunity to learn and grow. He’s now paying it forward with a new generation as he navigates and discovers artists through the internet.
“It makes me feel good about making music in today’s world. And that to me is what Christmas is all about: bringing people together and letting them be a light. Not only to the world but to themselves. Somewhere along the way, we kind of lost hope and I picked the name ‘Here-4-A-Reason’ because I wanted each and every one of them to know that they’re here for a reason, without me telling them; it’s built into the song. We want to feed the people good vibes because everybody is hungry for them.”
The Parliament-Funkadelics bassist and singer’s Funk Not Fight album title came from a mindfulness walk with his dogs.
“One night, the universe just said ‘how about just not funk and not fight? At first, I didn’t grab the real wholeness of it. When I woke up the next morning and told my wife, Patti, I have a title, she said ‘wow, that’s a great idea.’ When she said that, I thought maybe I should make a song out of it. So, I got busy with putting the track together. Sometimes the title comes first or sometimes the music comes first. I don’t worry about that part. I just know when it starts rolling, you have to embrace it.
These kinds of titles and things that come to me, I realize that I have to do something with it. Again, this is food for people and it’s always something to lift people’s spirits because we always need that. I feel like that’s my place, that’s my space. That’s what I needed when I was coming up. I needed that spark from somebody. My life is dedicated to that: seeing people spark up. Funk Not Fight made perfect sense to me because that’s what I’d rather do.”
Booty’s new album is also partnering up with the Bootsy Collins Foundation, Apple, and Spotify, among others. All money raised from the project will go towards initiatives in need of financial backing that are committed to the goal of slowing down the violence and turmoils within communities.
During Bootsy’s adolescence, he looked up to his brother, Catfish, and always had an eager attitude to learn from him. Even through adulthood, Bootsy still seeks to learn from others.
“To me, I never really grew up. I’m always in the mindset of I’m still a youngster still growing up. In being like that, I’ve become like the young ones are. My whole thing is, whatever you’re doing, stick to the lifting up in people. I always look for that in people; getting something that helps lifts me up. It’s either something they’re doing, their creativity, saying, or acting out. That continues to make me grow and when I get that, it’s like I’m being fed. When I’m being fed, I also have to feed people back. It’s kind of a concept I’ve been growing up on. It’s my superpower – bringing people together and I love it.”
