The funk artist is the subject of a new documentary, 'Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius)'
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Growing up, Sly Stone’s daughter wanted to be just like the star in every way.
Phunne Stone is sharing the dark side of her childhood in a new Hulu documentary, "Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius)." In it, Phunne described how, as a child, she snorted sidewalk chalk to mimic her dad. She even used one of the razor blades he collected to cut lines of cocaine.
"I went and grabbed me one and my box of chalk," Phunne explained, as quoted by People magazine. "And I said, ‘We gon’ do what the grown folks do.’ So, I got my chalk and I chopped up about 37 lines of chalk out there and got the Monopoly money, rolled up."
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Sly Stone is the subject of a new documentary, "Sly Lives!" that premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. (Fotos International/NBC Television/Courtesy of Getty Images)
"We were out there … about 19 lines," she said. "We sneezing and s--t."
Phunne’s mother, Sly and the Family Stone co-founder and trumpet player Cynthia Robinson, caught her daughter in the act.
"My mama came out and was like, ‘What are you doing?!’" Phunne recalled. "I mean, it’s green and pink, ‘cause you know the chalk [is] different colors. And I’m telling mom, ‘Nothing!’"
"I went and grabbed me one and my box of chalk. And I said, ‘We gon’ do what the grown folks do.’ So, I got my chalk and I chopped up about 37 lines of chalk out there and got the Monopoly money, rolled up."
— Phunne Stone
Sly Stone makes a rare appearance with his daughter Phunne Stone and the Family Stone during Hippiefest 2015 at Count Basie Theater on August 23, 2015, in Red Bank, New Jersey. (Mark Weiss/Getty Images)
"She beat the brakes off me," Phunne added.
According to the outlet, Phunne was often the only child in her music family. She described living "in an adult world, to where I thought I was grown." While she admitted that the funk artist was not the most present father, she is adamant that her parents’ love for each other was genuine.
Robinson died in 2015 at age 69.
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Psychedelic soul group Sly and the Family Stone, circa 1968. Clockwise from top: Gregg Errico, Freddie Stone, Cynthia Robinson, Jerry Martini, Sly Stone, Rosie Stone and Larry Graham. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
"I think that my dad is ... shy, and I think drugs helped him be fearless," said Phunne, as quoted by the outlet. "My mom loved him more than any man. She never dated another man after my dad. But he wasn’t always around when I lived with my mom."
In the documentary, Phunne said that she has only recently rebuilt her relationship with Stone, 81.
"He cried, I cried, everybody around us was crying," she said about their reunion. "And we [were] hugging and shaking and all that."
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Born Sylvester Stewart in Texas and raised in Vallejo, California, across the bay from San Francisco, he studied music composition at a junior college while working as a radio DJ, becoming known for his whimsical patter and eclectic playlists.
Stone went on to develop what was described as a no-barrier style of music that would meld Motown pop-soul, James Brown’s funk, R&B, gospel and psychedelic rock.
Shortly after forming in 1966, Sly and the Family Stone produced a string of hits, including "Everyday People," "I Want to Take You Higher," "Hot Fun in the Summertime" and "Stand!"
Singer Sylvester Stewart, better known as Sly Stone, leader of the popular American funk rock group Sly and the Family Stone, at the Hatchett's Club, Piccadilly, London. (Central Press/Getty Images)
Stone’s music took a more cynical turn as drugs took hold of his life. While on tour, Stone carried a violin filled with cocaine. At concerts, fans never knew whether they’d get one of his famously ecstatic performances, or whether Stone would bother showing up at all.
The band splintered soon after 1973’s "Fresh." Stone then entered a decades-long cycle of addiction, doomed tours and tax woes. He later went on PCP binges.
Stone was eventually overtaken by a dependence on crack cocaine. It resulted in ruined relationships, regular stints in jail and rehab.
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Sly Stone performs during Nice Jazz festival, circa 2007. (ERIC ESTRADE/AFP via Getty Images)
Today, Stone has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and has lost a large amount of his lung capacity, The Guardian reported. According to the outlet, he got clean in 2019.
In 2023, Stone’s memoir was published. At the time, he admitted that he occasionally had to depend on the recollections of others, because his memory wasn’t always reliable.
In the documentary, Stone’s son Sylvester Stewart Jr. also spoke out.
Phunne Stone performing on stage at The Family Stone and Maceo Parker concert at Chene Park Amphitheater on August 12, 2015, in Detroit, Michigan. (Monica Morgan/WireImage/Getty Images)
"As a kid, hearing about him being arrested for drugs or whatever, I didn’t like it," said Sylvester in the film, as quoted by People magazine. "I always wanted him to be the person that I was always told he was when I was a baby."
"… These last few years are the most normal times I’ve had with him," he added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com.
