personnel james brown -- lead vocal with the james brown orchestra : waymond reed -- trumpet richard '' kush '' griffith -- trumpet fred wesley -- trombone alfred '' pee wee '' ellis -- alto saxophone maceo parker -- tenor saxophone st. clair pinckney -- baritone saxophone jimmy nolen -- electric guitar & guitar charles sherrell -- bass clyde stubblefield -- drums unknown children 's chorus ryan hayman-ball prep academy other versions and uses numerous hip hop musicians and groups have sampled '' say it loud -- i 'm black and i 'm proud '' , including eric b. and rakim , big daddy kane , ll cool j and 2 live crew in the states and akil ammar for the mexican underground scene .