James Brown Charts First New Hit in Years Thanks to Sample on 310babii’s ‘Bad’
Written by djfrosty on March 6, 2025
James Brown, the trailblazing Godfather of Soul who passed in 2006, places a new song on a Billboard chart for the first time since 1993 as his co-billed collaboration with 310babii, “Bad,” reaches No. 37 on the Rhythmic Airplay chart dated March 8. The new single samples Brown’s “The Boss” from his 1973 album, Black Caesar.
“Bad,” released on HIGH IQ/EMPIRE, is the fourth Rhythmic Airplay hit for rapper 310babii, born Kameron Milner. His debut entry, “Soak City,” ruled the list for two weeks in March-April 2024. His follow-up track “Rock Your Hips” peaked at No. 2 last December, and his collaboration with Jaydon, “Ah! Ah!,” reached a No. 19 best last week (it slides seven spots to No. 26 on the current list.)
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For Brown, who died in 2006 at age 73, “Bad” is the icon’s maiden appearance on the Rhythmic Airplay chart, which launched in October 1992. It’s his first new recording on any Billboard songs chart since 1993’s “Can’t Get Any Harder,” which netted a No. 76 high on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Some of his best-known recordings, including “I Got You (I Feel Good),” “Living in America” and “Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto” banked time on digital song sales or other charts in recent years due to commercial syncs or holiday-fueled consumption.
In addition, Brown charted for one week in 2012 on the now-defunct Hot Singles Sales chart with a Record Store Day-exclusive vinyl single release of two previously unreleased live recordings from 1972 — “There It Is” and “Pass the Peas.”
“Bad” adds another piece to Brown’s legendary career on the Billboard charts. To scratch the surface of his many accomplishments, the oft-proclaimed “hardest working man in show business” logged 57 top 10 entries on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, a record that stood from 1969 until 2018, when Drake surpassed the mark. Among them, 17 titles topped the chart, a run that spans from “Try Me” in 1959 to “Papa Don’t Take No Mess (Part I)” in 1974 and contains classics such as “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)” and “Get on the Good Foot.” His crew of No. 1s is the fourth-most among all acts, with only Drake (30), Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder (20 each) above him.
From 1958-1986, Brown accumulated his 91 Billboard Hot 100 hits, with a No. 3 career high through “I Got You (I Feel Good)” in 1965. Thanks to his storied career, Brown was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s inaugural 1986 class alongside legends such as Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley and Little Richard.
And while Brown more than merits his spot with the all-time greats, his legacy credentials only swell with his catalog’s prolific sampling for new generations. In the past few decades, Brown, via sampling, has collected songwriting credits on plenty of top 20 Hot 100 hits, including Mary J. Blige’s “Everything” (No. 24) in 1997, Jennifer Lopez’s “Get Right” (No. 12) in 2005, Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Otis,” featuring Otis Redding (No. 12) in 2011 and Beyoncé’s “Church Girl” (No. 22) in 2022.