What we call soul has been around a long time. It comes out of a particular culture that is African in origin, but influenced by 250 years of slavery, as well as other forms of racial oppression.

During the 2000s and 2010s Ayers ventured into house music collaborating with such stalwarts of the genre as Masters at Work and Kerri Chandler. Roy Ayers performed a solo on the John "Jellybean" Benitez production of Whitney Houston "Love Will Save The Day" from her second multi-platinum studio album Whitney. The documentary is planned to be released in early 2014.

Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist releasing several albums with Atlantic Records before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk.