Future Shock

Recorded during the Back to the World sessions at Curtom Studios in Chicago for Curtis Mayfield’s own Curtom label. The album credits Mayfield as producer and lists Phil Upchurch, Joseph "Lucky" Scott, Rich Tufo, Henry Gibson, and Quinton Joseph among the personnel. Released in 1973 as part of Back to the World, the track was one of the album’s minor singles and reflected Mayfield’s socially minded post-Super Fly period. It stood out as a sharp, contemporary soul statement on the album’s anti-war themes. The song later gained added recognition when Herbie Hancock remade it for his 1983 album Future Shock. It remains a noted deep cut from Mayfield’s early-1970s solo run and a touchstone for later funk and hip-hop listeners.