The image above is from Apple’s site, confirming former leader Steve Jobs passed away today at age 56 after battling a rare form of pancreatic cancer for years. Read the rest of this entry »

Sugar Hill Records co-founder Sylvia Robinson died early Thursday morning at a New Jersey hospital. Read the rest of this entry »

Nick Ashford, one half of the songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson, passed away Monday in a New York hospital after succumbing to throat cancer. The husband and wife duo were the pens behind many of R&B’s bests, having written hits for Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Chaka Khan and, more recently, received co-writing credit on Amy Winehouse’s “Tears Dry On Their Own.” Read the rest of this entry »

“There’s just one other thing…”

Peter Falk, most famous for his role as detective Columbo, died Thursday evening in his home at the age of 83. The aging actor had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia according to court papers filed a few years ago.

My dad used to watch Columbo reruns like clockwork for a while during my adolescence. Every day when he got off work, he’d crack open a can of Vienna sausages along with a pack of saltines and then cut the TV on to this or Barnaby Jones. Change the channel? Please. Talk or disturb him? You better not. Incidentally, it was that continuous exposure and Columbo’s penchant for making sloppy attire seem okay which could very well be the reason I don’t iron my clothes today.

Book investigation biters like Columbo, word to Parish & Erick.

Gil Scott-Heron, one of the forefathers of spoken word, died Friday afternoon in New York at age 62. His publisher, Jamie Byng, tweeted news of the passing earlier. After battling a lifetime of ups and downs, Heron released I’m New Here last year, his first album in over 15 years. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s get the sad part out of the way: Macho Man died this morning after suffering a heart attack while driving, first reported by TMZ and confirmed by the Florida Highway Patrol. His truck veered into oncoming traffic and he died from wounds suffered during the car crash. Clown if you want, but I grew up on wrestlers like Macho Man and the news is damn tough to hear. Read the rest of this entry »

Title credit: Snoop

Twitter finally got one celebrity death right, unfortunately. On any given day, the social networking monster can start a random trending topic with a hashtag stating “RIP” followed by any artist on God’s green Earth. Many accept the news as fact until proven otherwise Read the rest of this entry »

In case you haven’t heard, Leslie Nielsen, the brilliantly funny actor that starred in the Naked Gun flicks and Airplane, passed away last night due to complications from pneumonia.

If you’re too young to know about Nielsen, you’ll know his impact on the world of slapstick parody movies as the Scary Movie series is an unfunny, inbred offspring of the hilarious films Nielsen starred in. Read the rest of this entry »

AP reports indicate that legendary New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner passed away this morning at the age of 80. The homie DDot’s tweet probably sums it up best by saying that “Steinbrenner made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can.” Read the rest of this entry »

On Sunday, legendary singer and stage beauty Lena Horne passed away in New York at age 92. Listing her firsts would be too numerous as she was the embodiment of the word “pioneer.” But most notably, she was the first black performer to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio and among the first black singers to cross over to white audiences or lead a white band. After fighting adversity & discrimination in the entertainment field for years, she went on to become a social activist and helped open doors for many to follow, both on and off the stage. Read the rest of this entry »

Not much to say here that wasn’t said previously. After his long, public battle with cancer, Guru aka Keith Elam has passed away. No official statements but Premo’s Twitter pretty much gave all the confirmation fans need. Read the rest of this entry »

As if losing one childhood staple this month wasn’t enough, Corey Haim – a featured star in some of my favorite movies growing up – died on Tuesday of pulmonary congestion. Maybe I’ve just been busy, but the former phenomenon’s passing seems like it was covered about as much as ‘Bron on St. Vincent–St. Mary. Which sucks. Because, weird as it sounds, I honestly feel somewhat attached to the once promising actor, even if he did become a walking train wreck later in life.

Alongside fellow boyish burnout Cory Feldman, “The Two Coreys” were like denim-jacket-wearing gods during my adolescence, co-starring in 80′s-baby cinematic classics like Lost Boys and License To Drive, achieving a scary level of success in return. And that was before the media floodgates opened and unwarranted fame became so easily achieved. Then, like usual, the clout went away quicker than it came and vices came into play. As a result of the turbulence, Corey Haim is dead at 38 and more people are cracking jokes about it than taking note. Proving once again, society is one big, cruel and unusual conglomerate of despair.

Lindsay Lohan, The Jonas Brothers, Jersey Shore’s cast members and every other unwarranted attention whore should take note. Celebrity doesn’t last. When your looks go away, you stop getting paid for appearances and people move on to the next pretty face. Then you die and no one cares.

Save your money, stay clean and you’ll be straight.

Mother: Haim Died Of Pulmonary Congestion [MSNBC]

“Without Apache there would have been no Queen Latifah, no Naughty By Nature, no Chill Rob G., no anything. Apache was the string that tied all of Flavor Unit together. Without Apache none of this would be.” — Shakim of Flavor Unit

When I read that New Jersey original Apache passed away yesterday, I was on my way out the door and didn’t have time to put together the words I already knew I wanted to say. Most people commonly associate his name with “Gangsta Bitch,” his hit record, and then that’s where they stop. True enough, “one hit wonder” is highly applicable but that one hit had a lot going into it and did quite a bit in influencing others. Read the rest of this entry »

After a grueling battle with cancer, soul legend Teddy Pendergrass died yessterday @ the age of 59. On a personal note, I’d like to send a “thank you” into the cosmos and let Teddy know that alongside Marvin’s I Want You, no other album taught me more about love and sex – how to give and receive both – than Teddy. His baritone voice gave me that added bit of courage needed and the soothing nature of his words always put the opposite sex at ease. And together, Teddy and I Read the rest of this entry »

“I got to have it, I miss Mr. Magic…”

Hip-Hop radio pioneer John “Mr. Magic” Rivas passed away this morning from a heart attack. With Marley Marl, Mr. Magic’s “Rap Attack” was the first all Hip-Hop radio show, debuting in 1983. The history of this show includes the now legendary rivalry between Boogie Down Productions and The Juice Crew. Read the rest of this entry »