Jim James

During the course of this week's People Have The Power James picks several protest songs, including Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," which he says, "That's my favorite album of all time."

He elaborates on the significance of the song both culturally and in his work. "Right after George Floyd was killed and I was in Los Angeles at the protest I saw several people holding up signs with lyrics from 'What's Going On' on them. That song and that record, to me, are the pinnacle of human achievement musically," he says.

So how does it influence his own work? "Everything about that record is what I aspire to be with music. I feel like that record haunts my dreams," he says. "That record, in my mind, is untouchable. So I'm always looking to it as the cornerstone of the building I'm trying to build. "