Well said, and very true. Still, you and I have no idea how hard he tried, and weather or not James Brown was victorious in overcoming his problems in the end. We also don't know his relationship with Christ in the end. Now, it is one thing to say that he lived a foolish life, squandered his talent, and did things that seperated himself from God. It is quite another to condemn to hell anyone who has ever played rock and roll or had drug and alcohol problems.
I sincerely hope that James Brown turned his life around - and that can happen at the time of death, even for someone who led a dissolute life. I say this as someone who mis-spent much of my life, used drugs and alcohol, and probably broke every commandment. I also used to enjoy James Brown's music!
But everyone who takes their spiritual life and the messages of God seriously should never think: "I'm saved, so it's okay if I sin". On the contrary, we should examine our own lives very carefully, and continually pull out the weeds. It's a lifelong process, there are always more weeds. We should be sorry for our failures, never thinking that it's okay, I'm already saved, so my actions don't matter.