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For Joseph Patel<\/strong>, his Emmy-nominated Hulu documentary Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)<\/em> wasn\u2019t just another music story \u2014 it was a chance to contextualize a towering yet often misunderstood artist while he was still alive to see it.<\/p>\n Patel\u2019s collaboration with Amir “Questlove” Thompso<\/strong>n, who directed the film, goes back nearly three decades. \u201cWe met almost 30 years ago. I was a music journalist and my first cover story was for Rap Pages<\/em> magazine on The Roots<\/strong>. And it was their first cover story as a band,\u201d Patel recalls. \u201cOf all the members of the group, I immediately clicked with Amir. We spent the next three days nerding out on music. I think he secretly wanted to be a music journalist.\u201d Their friendship endured through the years and blossomed into creative partnerships, culminating with their Oscar-winning Summer of Soul<\/em>.<\/p>\n More from Gold Derby<\/strong><\/p>\n Patel describes how that film shaped their storytelling approach. \u201cQuestlove said, \u2018I want this movie to feel like a Public Enemy<\/strong> album.\u2019 We\u2019re both children of hip-hop and knew immediately what that reference meant. We wanted to tell stories layered on top of each other, coming at the audience in multiple ways.\u201d That \u201crhythm\u201d guided them again with Sly Lives!<\/em>.<\/p>\n With Sly Stone<\/strong>, Patel and Questlove aimed to show more than the well-known hits. \u201cSly has spent more years struggling with drug addiction and out of the spotlight than he did in the spotlight,\u201d Patel says. \u201cWe wanted to tell it with empathy, to show his genius and really explain to the audience under the hood what was happening \u2014 why people consider him a genius. Jimmy Jam<\/strong> and Terry Lewis<\/strong> and Nile Rodgers<\/strong>, they\u2019re not just talking heads. These are incredible musicians inspired directly by Sly. They break down why ‘Everyday People\u2019 is not only catchy, but designed to bring Black and white audiences together.\u201d<\/p>\n The film also delves into a deeply personal theme for Questlove: \u201cWhen you\u2019re a successful Black artist, this feeling of paralysis sometimes come over you. Amir wanted to make the film for his peers, for those who came before, but also really for himself. After the Oscars, I saw how uncomfortable Amir was with that success. My job was to find the best way to tell that story, and we talked to artists like D\u2019Angelo<\/strong>, Chaka Khan<\/strong>, and George Clinton<\/strong>, who act as proxies for Sly \u2014 exploring the burdens that come with genius for Black artists.\u201d<\/p>\n Balancing the documentary for diehard fans and newcomers was another key challenge. \u201cThat\u2019s the work,\u201d Patel says. \u201cYou want to satisfy the hardcore heads \u2014 there are things in the movie even longtime Sly fans haven\u2019t seen. But it\u2019s really for a wide audience, and you don\u2019t want to disrespect hardcore fans. You want to give new audiences an entry point. We spent a lot of time in pre-production mapping out story and tone to nail that sweet spot.\u201d<\/p>\n Patel also shared how his own understanding of Sly deepened through making the film. \u201cI didn\u2019t know Sly\u2019s story as deeply as Amir did, and that was healthy for the process. I got immersed in Sly\u2019s music \u2014 reading books and articles \u2014 while our editor Josh Pearson<\/strong> was kept away to view the story fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n Sly Stone passed away on June 9, 2025. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize how important it was to tell his story while he was still alive,\u201d Patel says. At Stone\u2019s private funeral, Patel learned from the musician\u2019s caretaker that the icon had watched the film repeatedly. \u201cHe really liked seeing his kids in the movie,\u201d Patel says, still moved by the revelation. \u201cEspecially for Black artists, they often don\u2019t get their due until after they\u2019ve passed. It was special he got to see the empathy and respect we had for him while he was still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)<\/em>, Emmy-nominated for Best Documentary or Nonfiction Special, is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.<\/p>\n This article and video are sponsored content by Hulu.<\/em><\/p>\n Best of Gold Derby<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Gold Derby’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n