Flea has expressed his approval of the new Netflix documentary on former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Hillel Slovak, following the band’s earlier distancing from the project.
The Rise of the ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother’, Hillel premiered on March 20, exploring the band’s early years and Slovak’s influence before his death from an accidental heroin overdose in 1988.
However, prior to the documentary’s release in January, the band clarified on Instagram that while they gave interviews, the film was not an official band documentary.
Flea posted on Instagram that he had watched the documentary and was deeply moved. He described it as “beautifully made” and said it “filled my heart right to the top, not without a good dose of lifelong melancholy. Hillel forever.”
The documentary uses AI to recreate Slovak’s voice from his journals, making clear its use of technology in these segments.
Frontman Anthony Kiedis reflected on Slovak’s enduring influence, noting that “the energy of Hillel Slovak has never truly faded.” He added that although Slovak missed early recordings and TV appearances, “he was a creator of the band. That was his baby. Hillel’s still there in our hearts, whether it’s 30, 40, 50, 60 or even 100.”
