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Etta James January 25, 1938 - January 20, 2012 Just five days before her 74th birthday, music icon Etta James has passed on. After battling multiple illnesses and the demons of addiction, leukemia and its complications took her body. But her spirit, her voice, will be with us forever through a catalog that spans 5 decades and every genre of music: blues, jazz, pop, soul, R&B, even hip-hop. Jamesetta Hawkins was born in Los Angeles, but discovered in San Francisco, becoming a star on the Chess records roster in the '50s. Her Bay Area roots intersected with mine in 1989, when a green,...

20 January, 2012 /

Nickolas 'Nick' Ashford 1941-2011 Anger bubbled inside me upon learning that one of the world's seminal soul and pop music voices was silenced by throat cancer at the age of 70 on August 22, 2011. Nickolas 'Nick' Ashford truly wrote the words that made the whole world fall in love. And I was literally pissed off that the same disease who claimed the earthly life of my mother had taken also taken his. And then, I had to take a moment and rethink my reaction. Nick Ashford spent his life providing everyone within the reach of his pen, the sound of his voice--with...

25 August, 2011 /

Rest In Power, Master Teacher Gil Scott-Heron Artist * Poet * Activist * Musician * Author 1949-2011 Gil Scott-Heron was called home Friday, May 27, 2011. An iconic creative spirit who left an indelible mark on Black music and indeed the entire world, you'll read obits about his public accomplishments and contributions. He is indeed a revolutionary. He is the Godfather of Spoken Word. But this piece is about what this amazing Master Teacher taught me during the three years I worked on his behalf. Gil's music used to pump at full volume in my home. My parents and he went to Lincoln University, and his...

29 May, 2011 /