James Mtume, Jazz and R&B Legend, Dies at 76

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James Mtume, a legendary jazz musician and R&B artist whose hit 1983 single “Juicy Fruit” provided the
musical foundation for the Notorious B.I.G.'s 1994 rap classic “Juicy,” died Sunday at the age of 76.

No cause of death was given. Lisa Lucas, the daughter of Mtume’s deceased creative partner guitarist Reggie Lucas, was the first to share the news, which was confirmed by his publicist, Angelo Ellerbee.

"So much loss. So much grief. Rest in power to Uncle Mtume," she wrote on Twitter. "My late father’s partner in crime, the co-creator of the songs of my life (and about my birth!). He was essential part of the life of the man who made me, therefore me too. Gone now. He will be dearly, eternally missed."

So much loss. So much grief. Rest in power to Uncle Mtume. My late fathers partner in crime, the co-creator of the songs of my life (and about my birth!). He was essential part of the life of the man who made me, therefore me too. Gone now. He will be dearly, eternally missed. https://t.co/juDFpQBkMb

— Lisa Lucas (@likaluca) January 9, 2022

The Philadelphia native, born James Heath, was a musical legacy. The son of jazz saxophonist Jimmy Heath, he was raised by his stepfather, James Forman, a jazz pianist. In college he adopted the Swahili word for messenger as his stage name.

The percussionist's career had exploded by the 1970s, thanks in part to his collaborations with jazz legends Miles Davis and McCoy Tyner. From 1971-1975 he manned the drums on electronic jazz classics like “On the Corner” and “Pangea.”

A renaissance man Mtume, along with his musical partner Lucas, produced songs and albums for Stephanie Mills, Phyllis Hyman, Lou Rawls and The Spinners in the early 80s.

Their collaboration led to a string of hits including Mills’ Grammy-winning “Never Knew Love Like This Before” in 1981 and Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway’s 1978 million-selling hit “The Closer I Get to You.”

Rest In Power to the great James Mtume. The South Philly native & prodigal son, Jazz ROYALTY (the son of the great Jimmy Heath) and music trailblazer & pioneer. His passing is truly a monumental loss. Let's look at some of Mtume's music and legacy through the years, as a THREAD: pic.twitter.com/CQyJZLzwMs

— COSMO BAKER (@CosmoBaker) January 9, 2022

In 1978 he started leading his eponymous New York-based group Mtume. The group struck gold on its third album release with 1983’s “Juicy Fruit.” The funk-fueled, bass-heavy track earned the No. 1 stop on the Billboard R&B chart and began a legacy that would transcend the artist.

When Notorious B.I.G. sampled the song in his 1994 hit "Juicy,” it served as a powerful platform to propel the artist into eventual rap superstardom over one of the most famous bass and drum samples in history.

It’s really not doing justice listing accomplishments. Right now. Thank you James Mtume for all the wisdom & love & respect you’ve shown me & my brothers over the years. #JamesMtume https://t.co/aRpmWSFpiH

— Certified ?uestlover (@questlove) January 10, 2022

According to reporting from NPR, Mtume was flattered by his work being used as the basis for the track.

"Oh, I dug it," remembered Mtume about "Juicy." "They actually wanted me to be in [the music video]. I was asked and I said, 'No, you ain't doing that man. What? You want me to jump around the corner in some high shoes and plaid pants?' They fell out laughing. 'It's your generation, you all do what you do.' "

His work would go on to be sampled by a multitude of other hip-hop artists. Snoop Dogg, Lil Kim and Common are just a few of the luminaries who have sampled Mtume.

In addition to his significant contributions to jazz, besides Davis and Tyner, he contributed to recordings from many of the arts greatest legends including Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie; Mtume co-produced Mary J. Blige’s 1997 hit album” Share My World.” He also served as a music supervisor for television’s “New York Undercover” and scored the 1986 film “Native Son.” An activist at heart, he also co-hosted a community talk series called “Open Line” on New York’s WBLS-FM for 18 years.

Calvin Simon, Parliament-Funkadelic Co-Founder, Dead at 79

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Calvin Simon, a founding member of the psychedelic funk-collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton known as Parliament-Funkadelic, has died.

The news of Simon’s passing at age 79 Thursday, was broken by former bandmates Clinton and Bootsy
Collins, who both posted moving tributes to the vocalist on their social media Friday — and confirmed Saturday by a post on Simon's official Facebook page.

"[Thanks] everyone for the wonderful memories... we will so miss you Calvin... but love the thought that heaven just got a bit funkier," the post reads.

Simon, whose cause of death had not been reported at press time, drew high praise from Clinton and Collins, two of the most visible members of Parliament and musicians whose influence has reached far beyond funk.

"Rest in peace to my P-Funk brother Mr. Calvin Simon," Clinton wrote on Facebook. "Longtime Parliament-Funkadelic vocalist. Fly on Calvin!"

Collins added on Instagram, "We lost another Original member of Parliament/Funkadelic. A friend, bandmate & a cool classic guy, Mr. Calvin Simon was a former member of Parliament/Funkadelic. He's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen members of P-Funk!"

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A post shared by William "Bootsy" Collins (@bootsy_collins)

A West Virginia native, Simon was born in 1942 and as a youth sang in his church choir for weekly radio broadcasts. The family relocated to New Jersey when he was a teen, where he eventually found work as a barber before joining fellow barbers Clinton and Grady Thomas, and customers Ray Davis and Fuzzy Haskins in the doo-wop quintet originally known as the Parliaments.

The group scored a record contract and a hit single in 1967’s “(I Wanna) Testify," but that same year Simon was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War. After completing two years of service, he returned to the group which had morphed into the collective known as Parliament-Funkadelic, by combining two groups led by the charismatic Clinton.

The group scored massive hits with chart-toppers like “Flash Light” and "Give Up the Funk.” In 1997, Simon and the rest of the group were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for their contributions to music, including 13 top-10 hits on the American R&B music charts between 1967 and 1983. The group received a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 2019.

Simon, who left the group in 1978, released several gospel albums on his own label, Simon Sayz, in the years following his departure. The first release, 2004’s “Share the News,” coincided with his diagnosis and battle with thyroid cancer. His last release was 2018’s “I Believe.”

Dr. Dre and Ex-Wife Nicole Young Reach $100 Million Divorce Settlement

Instagram @therealbreyonprescott

With the holidays upon us in full force and Omicron causing a new wave of Covid concerns and cancellations, it’s no surprise that some of us might have forgotten about Dr. Dre — more specifically his ongoing divorce battle with Nicole Young.

The couple, married for 24 years before Nicole filed for divorce in 2020, citing irreconcilable differences, were declared legally single in June of this year after filing legal paperwork that terminated marital or domestic partnership status between them.

Now, according to reporting from TMZ the 56-year-old music mogul and his ex (51), have finalized the rest of the divorce with a settlement that will give her less than 1/5 of his estimated $820 million dollar fortune.

Thanks in part to a prenuptial agreement, which Nicole contested, Dre will pay Young just $100 million split into two payments, one now and another a year from now. While the sum is significant, things could have gone much worse for the artist.

Dr. Dre and ex-wife Nicole Young reached a massive divorce settlement Tuesday that will see Young walk away from their 24-year marriage with $100 million https://t.co/7nWtmf7sL4

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) December 28, 2021

Young originally filed for half of everything, but her attempts to overturn the prenuptial agreement outright proved futile in the end. The couple will split a fleet of 10 cars, with Dre getting six and Nicole receiving four. Dre retained much of their property — including a Malibu home; two homes in Calabasas, and four properties in the L.A. area, including their $100 million Brentwood estate, and most importantly, he keeps the full rights to his master recordings, trademarks, and interests in various partnerships and trusts.

Young was allowed to retain all the money in her personal accounts accrued and jewelry she received while married to Dre but loses the right to spousal support and must pay the millions in legal bills she piled up fighting the prenuptial agreement. The couple’s kids, son Truice (24) and daughter Truly (20), are adults.

The ruling is seen by many as a victory for the music producer, but it may hurt him more financially than initially thought according to reporting from Rolling Stone. He filed paperwork in Nov. during divorce proceedings that placed his net worth at $458.2 million, with $182.7 million in cash; another $6.3 million in stocks, and $269.2 million in property and assets, including intellectual property. Much of his estimated wealth comes from his stake in Beats Electronics, which Apple bought for $3 billion in 2014. His stake was worth $800 million at the time, and. It is unclear what accounts for the discrepancy.

JAY-Z Says There's 'Not a Chance in Hell' an Artist Could Beat Him in a Verzuz Battle

Photograph by Mason Poole. Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.

Billionaire businessman and rap icon Jay-Z has nothing but smoke for anyone suggesting he entertain a battle on Verzuz, the music platform that rocketed to popularity mid-pandemic pitting artists in head-to-head competition with their contemporaries.

During a surprise appearance Tuesday on Alicia Keys’ Twitter Space, celebrating her new album "Keys," the artist made it clear that there would be no battle for him because any opponent would be outclassed.

“Ain’t nobody that can stand on that stage with me. I ain’t gonna lie, no disrespect. Everyone’s amazing, they’ve done what they’ve done. No one can stand on that stage with me. I'm just telling you guys the real... there’s not a shot," replied Hov to Genius’ Rob Markman when asked who might be able to go toe-to-toe with him on the Verzuz stage.

Jay-Z said as much while talking with Alicia Keys and Rob Markman on Twitter Spaces as the group discussed the R&B icon’s latest album, Keys.

Jay-Z on never doing a #VERZUZ battle “There’s not a chance anyone can stand on that stage with me” on @TwitterSpaces w/@aliciakeys @Genius @RobMarkman @Kozza @sc pic.twitter.com/Wh6IEdZfKQ

— 🎄jordan (@JustJordan_925) December 22, 2021

He followed up with a reference to his "Grammy Family Freestyle," a cypher made in an appearance on New York's Hot 97 in 2006, considered by many to be one of the best freestyles ever, to illustrate the disparity between himself and other rappers.

"You got to stand in front of the ‘Grammy Family Freestyle’ live? No one has ever even seen me perform that. You got to stand in front of that? That ain’t never going to happen,” Jay added.

Most other artists espousing such sentiment might come off as cocky, but the Brooklyn-born rapper may have the resume to back up such a weighty statement. Beginning with 1996's "Reasonable Doubt" his discography is littered with cultural touchstones and classics. He has also received the most Grammy Awards (23) ever awarded to a rapper.

In recent weeks he landed on the 94th Academy Award shortlists for Best Original Song for his work on "Guns Go Bang" from Netflix's The Harder They Fall, which he performed and wrote with Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi (the film's director, Jeymes Samuel, was also a co-writer). If the 52-year-old becomes an Oscar nominee, it could mark the first time in the award's history a husband and wife have competed against each other in the same category. His wife Beyoncé is also on the shortlists for her song "Be Alive" from the Warner Bros. movie "King Richard." There are 13 other songs on the shortlists.