‘James Brown: Say It Loud’ Grapples With a Big Question: Was He the Most Important Black Man in America?

Deborah Riley Draper has explored the Black experience in works like the film “Olympic Pride, American Prejudice” and the doc series “The Legacy of Black Wall Street.” But her new four-part series for A&E focuses not on an event but on a titanic, conflicted Black artist, singer James Brown, from his hugely influential music to his troubling history of domestic violence.

What was the appeal of a doc series about James Brown?
My agent called me and she was like, “So, Deb, there’s this music-based docuseries that’s happening, and I wanted to find out if you were interested.” I was like, “Well, tell me a little bit about it,” and she said, “It’s about James Brown.”