McGee: 'will.i.am is the new Sly Stone'

Alan McGee has suggested that will.i.am is the new Sly Stone.

Writing in his regular column for The Guardian, the former Creation Records boss compared the Black Eyed Peas songwriter to the leader of the recently-reformed funk/soul legends Sly and the Family Stone.

McGee said: "I asked myself: Who today would be a peer of Sly Stone? And then I hit on the answer: will.i.am. The Black Eyed Peas man is easily one of the successors to Sly Stone.

"For a start, his band are brilliant. They make use of the same multi-cultural pop template as Sly, and will.i.am pulls the same tricks too - namely, he has message songs that don't feel like message songs.

"Look at the brilliant 'My Humps', which exposes sexual gratification and objectification in a titillating number that sits firmly in the funk canon."

He added: "will.i.am has been pushing positive messages through his music since the beginning of his career and, like Sly, he's competitive.

"As a producer, will.i.am occupies the same eclectic role as Sly. He mixed psychedelia with funk, while will.i.am brought the future of funk forward with The E.N.D., which I firmly believe is this generation's There's a Riot Going On.

"I welcome the re-emergence of Sly Stone, and look forward to exactly how he will continue the musical genius of will.i.am."