HER Covers Sly And The Family Stone’s ‘Dance To The Music’ For The Latest ‘Minions’ Soundtrack

If you engage with pop culture on any level at all, you likely know that there’s a new Minions movie on the way. While your reception of this news largely depends on how you feel about the Minions as characters — and whether or not you have kids, the determining factor in how likely you are to end up in a movie theater to see the little yellow creatures on July 1 — there is one universal good that comes with the new film: Its soundtrack.

For whatever reason, the Despicable Me cinematic universe has always had absolutely stellar music. While some of that music gets run into the ground — even Pharrell got sick of “Happy” — Illumination, the studio behind Gru and his gibberish-speaking allies, undoubtedly churns out banger after banger for their films from covers to original songs.

This is, in part, because they secure some great collaborators for them. While Pharrell worked on the soundtrack for Despicable Me 2, the soundtrack for Minions: The Rise Of Gru is produced by Jack Antonoff, featuring contemporary artists covering 1970s soul, funk, and pop hits. The latest one to surface is a cover of Sly And The Family Stone’s signature hit “Dance To The Music” performed by the multitalented HER.

Listen to HER’s cover of Sly And The Family Stone’s “Dance To The Music” above. The full soundtrack, which also features Brittany Howard, Brockhampton, Caroline Polachek, Diana Ross, Gary Clark Jr., Jackson Wang, Kali Uchis, RZA, St. Vincent, Tierra Whack, and Thundercat, is also out on 7/1 via Decca and Verve.

The Questlove-Curated Soundtrack From ‘Summer Of Soul’ Is Coming To Streaming And Vinyl

The only thing missing from Questlove‘s moving historical documentary Summer Of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (aside from the hours of footage that had to be cut to make a watchable documentary in the first place) was a soundtrack that could be played outside of watching the film itself. After all, the doc covered the weeks-long 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which featured free live performances from Black music legends like Gladys Knight & The Pips, Nina Simone, and Sly & The Family Stone.

That changes today, with the announcement of the official soundtrack coming soon to streaming and physical media, including CDs and vinyl. Like the film, Questlove curated the once-lost audio documentation from several of the original performances, compiling 17 tracks including Sly & The Family Stone’s “Sing A Simple Song,” B.B. King’s “Why I Sing The Blues,” and The Operation Breadbasket Orchestra & Choir’s rendition of “Precious Lord Take My Hand” with Mahalia Jackson and Mavis Staples.

In the press release announcing the soundtrack, Questlove said, “It goes beyond saying that you can’t have a monster music journey on film without an equally awesome soundtrack. The people demanded ‘more!’. So for the people, we bring you musical manna that hopefully won’t be the last serving. These performances are lightning in a bottle. Pure artistry! Enjoy.”

The Summer Of Soul soundtrack is due on streaming and CD 1/28/2022 via Legacy Recordings. Pre-save it here. The vinyl release will be announced at a later date.

Questlove’s Next Film Is A Documentary About Sly Stone

Questlove, The Roots’ drummer and bandleader on The Tonight Show, cut his teeth as a director earlier this year with his Summer Of Soul documentary and now, he’s been given the opportunity to use that experience to pay homage to one of music’s great pioneers and legends. Quest is set to direct a documentary about funk icon Sly Stone, exploring his work with Sly And The Family Stone and recent fight for royalties on his old music. The film also counts Common as an executive producer but doesn’t have a title or release date yet.

“It goes beyond saying that Sly’s creative legacy is in my DNA,” Questlove explained in a statement. “It’s a Black musician’s blueprint. To be given the honor to explore his history and legacy is beyond a dream for me.”

Quest, who recently celebrated his 50th birthday, also recently made his feature film voice acting debut in Disney Pixar’s Soul. Since then, he reminisced about his experiences with a few of The Tonight Show‘s high-profile guests, including sharing his thoughts during Odd Future’s iconic breakout performance and being mistaken for a security guard by Cardi B. His Summer Of Soul documentary also won Sundance’s 2021 Grand Jury Prize.