The music continues to die, but given how life is, this should be of little surprise.
This past Thursday (June 6th), I learned that another musician who got their start in the 1970's had recently passed away, joining one Peabo Bryson, who died on June 2, 2026.
While in the midst of my YouTube travels this week, I stumbled across a short video that announced that singer Foster Sylvers had passed away. He died on May 30, 2026. Prostate cancer. He was 64-years old.
I was not a fan of Sylvers and beyond the one song of his that I know, I can't tell you what he did for the world of music. I know that he was part of a family group, known as The Sylvers, perhaps not unlike The Jacksons, but that's pretty much it.
His biggest hit was a song called "Misdemeanor", which was released in 1973. I learned of this song within the last decade, randomly I'm sure. I don't remember how I came across the song all those years ago, but indeed, I never forgot it.
Sylvers was born in 1962. If we're doing the math on this, he was 11-years old when this song was released. He obviously sounds young on this track, but I definitely don't want to harp on his age, voice, or overall singing ability. For the purpose of this entry, none of that is important.
To all my rap/hip-hip heads out there, you might know that Sylvers' song would end up becoming the base for a West Coast rap classic that would drop in the late 1980's.
Dr. Dre produced "It's Funky Enough", which would be The D.O.C.'s first single from his debut album, "No One Can Do It Better", released in 1989.
I don't know if I've said this in a previous entry, but at the risk of being redundant, I'll say it again.
I absolutely love sampling in rap music.
I suppose I like sampling in all music, though only if it happens to be done correctly. Bad samples are out there and I'll be the first to admit that P. Diddy/Puff Daddy is guilty of masterminding a few of those subpar samples. Today's rap music features terrible samples as well, but I won't get into any of those in this entry.
It's Funky Enough is definitely a rap classic, especially here in California.
In 1973, Foster Sylvers released Misdeameanor and had no idea that over a decade later, his song would be properly sampled and turned into a rap classic.
Mr. Sylvers, may you rest in peace.
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