Teena Marie, soul legend, passed away on Sunday December 26th at the age of 54.
Posts tagged "R.I.P."
R.I.P. Gregory Isaacs
Gregory Isaacs was easily one of the reggae genre’s Top Five vocalists all-time. His smooth tones were capable of mastering material that was explicitly political as well as explicitly personal-much like Motown legend Marvin Gaye. Which is why it makes sense that Isaacs’ most popular song on American shores was the 1982 classic “Night Nurse”, a song that bears more than a passing resemblance to Gaye’s comeback smash “Sexual Healing”. Since it’s release, it’s been covered by a sea of […]
R.I.P. Rich Cronin of LFO
No shade? This seriously made me sad. Rich Cronin, of the pop group LFO, passed away yesterday after suffering a stroke-reportedly a complication of leukemia, which he’d been suffering from for the past several years. Cronin was 35. Now, LFO might be little more than a blip on the pop culture radar, originally scoring overseas as Lyte Funkie Ones before (thankfully) shortening their name and scoring American success smack dab in the middle of boy band madness. However, in comparison […]
Unraveling the Complicated Legacy of Tupac Shakur
Tupac’s been on my mind for a couple of reasons. First off, yesterday (September 7th), marked the 14th anniversary of the night he was shot in Las Vegas, an event that led to his passing six days later. Two, a lot of blog and news outlets were buzzing about what I originally thought was a seemingly offhand comment made by Mike Tyson in which he regretted never having smoked weed with ‘Pac. It wasn’t until earlier this morning that I […]
The Boss is Gone: R.I.P. George Steinbrenner
He may have been born in Ohio, and his primary home base might have been in Florida, but George Steinbrenner was the personification of New York. Loud and blustery, but determined to win at all costs. For better or worse, Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees for nearly 40 years, set the template for the modern day sports team owner. It would be hard to imagine, say…a Mark Cuban without George Steinbrenner. That letter than the Cavaliers owner sent […]
R.I.P. Marvin Isley
I know I’ve said this before, but MAN, famous people are passing away at an alarming rate. Marvin Isley, bass player for Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Isley Brothers, passed away yesterday at the age of 56. The musician had been ill with diabetes for quite some time, and the disease ultimately cost him both of his legs. Along with his guitar-slinging brother Ernie (a disciple of Jimi Hendrix who should be acknowledged as one of the […]
R.I.P. Gary Coleman
I was trying really hard not to kick off Memorial Day weekend on a sad note. Gary Coleman, most famous for playing Arnold on the TV series “Diff’rent Strokes” in the late Seventies and Eighties, passed away yesterday due to a brain hemorrhage sustained during a fall at his home. He was 42 years old. My first thought is, geez, how tragic. 42 years old is way too young for anyone to go. Not only that, but by most accounts […]
Hip-Hop Loses One of It's Most Unique Voices: R.I.P. Guru
Over the weekend, it struck me that I hadn’t heard any news on the condition of Keith Elam AKA Guru. Guru-1/2 of legendary hip-hop duo Gang Starr as well as a solo artist-suffered a heart attack and had slipped into a coma a month or so ago. I woke up this morning to the sad news that Guru had passed away. Not only was Guru almost solely responsible for putting Boston on the hip-hop map, but he’s also one of […]
Blerd Appreciation: Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm McLaren, who passed away today, is best known for managing The Sex Pistols. He was pretty much one of the creators of the Seventies punk image. Although I find “Never Mind the Bollocks…” virtually unlistenable, there’s no way that I would deny the impact it had on music and pop culture in general. McLaren also discovered Bow Wow Wow and Boy George, thus being an integral part of the “second British invasion” in the Eighties. However, I hear the […]
R.I.P. Corey Haim
So I’m thinking back to 1986 and 1987. At the time, I was in the midst of a three year stretch living in Michigan with my mom and stepdad. I would spend summers at my grandparents’ place in Brooklyn (where I lived before and after that three-year stretch) along with various other relatives, including one cousin who was totally into the teenage pop culture of the time (I was a couple of years younger). In addition to the magazines I […]
Blerd Appreciation: B.I.G. Forever
A lot of things go into making a great emcee. You’ve got to have a great delivery, a unique voice, a strong vocabulary, the ability to create an impactful punchline or a memorable verse, emotional resonance (or just plain old heart), charisma, and you’ve got to have good narrative skills. A truly legendary emcee possesses all of those traits, and there are only a handful of rappers who can rate near the top of all of those categories: The Notorious […]