Gone at 51, pancreatic cancer. One of the greatest talents of his generation.
Fuck – and I can’t stress this strongly enough – this timeline.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwynv40ly4vo
No words, just gutted. Post your favourite tracks here if you like.
May as well start here.
Pancreatic cancer is a cunt.
Agreed.
I was just thinking the other day that he’d been quiet lately.
That is terribly sad news.
Sublime.
Bingo I’m sure there’s a universe where everyone who adds happiness lives long and prospers. Then there’s this one.
I am not aware of his work but a sad loss at such a young age.
Just listened to the tracks above.
Very nice and a Prince reference clearly.
HERE’S A COMPLETE CONCERT FROM THE 2015 NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL.
was going to post this, spectacular stuff
Sad news indeed. This is just gorgeous:
And this is funky as hell:
Too bad he wasn’t as prolific as Prince…but everything he did record was ace.
Here’s an article about the state of Black Americans’ health as reflected in the number of rappers dying prematurely from natural causes.
https://capitalbnews.org/deaths-of-hip-hop-artists-reveal-the-alarming-state-of-black-mens-health/
The US healthcare system is not effective. Cherish our NHS.
I bought “Brown Sugar” when it came out and loved it, but always thought of him as a supreme balladeer – my favourite tracks were the title track and “Cruisin'”. Then I went to see him live at the Brixton Academy in 2000 and was completely surprised and amazed that he seemed to be channeling James Brown and Prince in one of the funkiest shows I’ve ever seen (Pino Palladino and Questlove probably didn’t hurt). It was a revelation and the album he released around that time “Voodoo”, while fantastic, didn’t reflect the awesomeness of his live show.
I was very excited to hear “Black Messiah”, but some of the bits where the band plays around with the notion of “time” and “pocket” I found a bit challenging. There’s at least one track on that album where I just think “I know it’s difficult and clever, but it sounds bad!”. But I’m an old coot and what do I know? I still went to see him live at the Brixton Academy again that year and the live show was way, waaay better than the album (though I’m not a fan of Chris Dave and would have preferred Questlove to keep the drum spot). I’m sure there are videos on YouTube (in addition to the one already posted) that will bear that out.
I believe he’s the only person who has 100% of his albums in the Rolling Stone Top 500 (unless you count Lauryn Hill – who only has one album, – which I don’t). He will be missed enormously.