3 birthdays and a tragic lose occurred on April 1st. Sadly 36 years ago (1984) Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father, age 44. He was shot by his father just a day before his birthday and his passing is still felt in the soul genre, the “Prince of Motown” cemented the sound of souls and R&B back in the 60’s/70’s. Without Marvin we would have never had classic samples used throughout the music scene along with his works of art, so a salute and RIP to Marvin Gaye
A happy 49th birthday (4/1/1971) to Boots Riley. Born in Chicago, Riley to many is known now for his film Sorry to Bother You but I know him as a the founder of Oakland political rap group The Coup. Boots is a ill brother who I hope pursues film much more in the future.
Happy 37th birthday (4/1/1983) to the late Sean Taylor. Arguable a great safety, Taylor spent his short career as a Washington Redskin for 3 seasons (2004-2007) until he was fatally shot and killed in a home invasion on November 18th, 2007, age 24.
A final happy birthday to Gil Scott-Heron who would’ve been 71 today (4/1/1949). The Chicago born jazz poet revolutionized the spoken word scene. He was a beautiful soul, may he rest in piece.
