Syl Johnson, Soul Singer Sampled by Hip-Hop Heavyweights, Dies at 85

I, Sumori, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Chicago R&B legend Syl Johnson, whose soulful response to the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. helped make him a star, is dead at age 85.

“It is with extreme sadness that our family announces the passing of Soul & Blues Hall of Fame legend Syl Johnson,” his loved ones confirmed in a statement to the music site Pitchfork Sunday. “Dad, Brother, Grandfather, Great Grandfather, Uncle, Friend & Artist, he lived his life as a singer, musician, and entrepreneur who loved black music.”

The family did not release a cause of death for the artist, whose demise comes less than a month after his brother and fellow musician Jimmy Johnson died at the age of 93 on Jan. 31, according to a statement on his website.

Born Sylvester Thompson in Mississippi, Johnson rose to fame in the 1960s. His releases for Twinight Records, originally named Twilight Records, and Hi Records made him a prominent member of the Chicago soul scene.

It was 1969, "Is It Because I'm Black," a song inspired by the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., that would become Twinight's biggest hit and make him a star — reaching No. 11 on Billboard's R&B chart.

"I didn't want to be a militant," Johnson told The Los Angeles Times in 2012 of writing the song. "I didn't want to make something that alienated the white audience that I played for a lot." 

The poignant piece solidified his legacy, but it was a previous release that would preserve it for future generations. 

The hit song, "Different Strokes" from Johnson's 1968 debut album "Dresses Too Short," has become one of the most widely sampled pieces of music in hip-hop. Jay Z and Kanye West ("The Joy"), Public Enemy (“Fight the Power"), and Wu-Tang Clan  ("Shame on a N***a") are just some of the artform's heavyweights to employ his music in their craft. 

Kanye West Documentary 'Jeen-Yuhs' to Debut on Big Screen Ahead of Netflix Release

Courtesy of Netflix

Act 1 of “Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy,” the controversial upcoming Netflix three-part documentary about rapper Kanye West’s rise to fame is getting a theatrical release.

Feb. 10, a week before its Feb. 16 debut on the streaming service kicks off a three-week event centered around the documentary’s three parts, fans will have a chance to see the opening arc — focused on the artist's early years — in more than 1,100 theaters across the nation.

Filmmakers Clarence "Coodie" Simmons and Chike Ozah praised Netflix for working with them to share it in theatres.

"As filmmakers, it's a blessing to have our work presented on the big screen," they said in a statement announcing the news Friday.

It is a big move for the movie, chronicling over 20 years of West’s career and highlighting his progression from rapper to businessman and eventually presidential candidate. In January, two days ahead of the film’s anticipated premiere at the virtual Sundance Film Festival, the mercurial artist demanded final cut approval over the documentary.

"I'm going to say this kindly for the last time. I must get final edit and approval on this doc before it releases on Netflix,” the 44-year-old rapper wrote in an Instagram post.

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West continued, "Open the edit room immediately so I can be in charge of my own image. Thank you in advance."

In response, Simmons and Ozah told the New York Post, "We're still trying to work things out with Kanye and his team." Later the duo confirmed to Variety that West’s demands would not be met.

Tickets are on sale online at jeen-yuhs-tickets.com. A new trailer for the documentary was also released and can be seen below.

Arrests Made in the Overdose Death of 'The Wire' Actor Michael K. Williams

Photograph by Eli Joshua Ade/ Courtesy HBO

Federal prosecutors have charged four men in connection with the death of actor Michael K. Williams, best known for his iconic portrayal of stickup artist Omar Little on the hit crime drama “The Wire."

As we reported last year, the talented thespian was found dead at the age of 54 in his Brooklyn penthouse Sept. 6.

Drug paraphernalia was found at the scene suggesting he may have fatally OD’d possibly from heroin or fentanyl, a theory that was later confirmed by New York City's medical examiner who determined he died of acute drug intoxication.

Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams and Keechant Sewell, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, said New York police officers arrested the men who are alleged to be part of a Brooklyn drug trafficking crew for selling Williams the lethal dose.

Photo Courtesy Department of Justice

Michael K. Williams purchasing drugs from

Irvin Cartagena.

According to authorities, a surveillance video captured the hand-to-hand transaction in which Williams bought the lethal dose one day before his death. 

The dealer was identified as Irvin Cartagena. The 39-year-old suspect had sold drugs to undercover informants for months prior to Williams' death according to a federal complaint. Cartagena was arrested in Puerto Rico and charged with a narcotics conspiracy, a federal crime.

Cartagena is expected to be presented in federal court there Thursday. Hector Robles, Luis Cruz, and Carlos Macci are the other defendants.

According to the criminal complaint, all of them "continued to sell fentanyl-laced heroin in broad daylight" outside apartment buildings in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood, "despite knowing Williams died after being sold the product." They will appear in Manhattan federal court Wednesday.

“Michael K. Williams, a prominent actor and producer, tragically overdosed in his New York City apartment from fentanyl-laced heroin. Today, along with our law enforcement partners at the NYPD, we announce the arrests of members of a drug crew, including Irvin Cartagena, the man who we allege sold the deadly dose of drugs to Michael K. Williams," Williams said of the arrests. "This is a public health crisis. And it has to stop. Deadly opioids like fentanyl and heroin don’t care about who you are or what you’ve accomplished. They just feed addiction and lead to tragedy."

Statement of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams on the arrests of four defendants in connection with the overdose death of Michael K. Williams pic.twitter.com/EtrtYTr7xF

— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) February 2, 2022