Mtume

Mtume was a funk and R&B band led by percussionist, keyboardist, producer, singer, and former Miles Davis sideman James Mtume (born James Forman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 3, 1948). Mtume is best known for the 1983 hit single “Juicy Fruit”, which has become one of the most sampled songs in hip-hop and rap history. The seeds of the band were planted in the early 1970s when James Mtume – the son of saxophonist Jimmy Heath - recorded the albums Alkebu-Lan: Land of the Blacks (1972) and Rebirth Cycle (1974). Neither album achieved chart success, but things began to change in the late 1970s when James Mtume formed a songwriting partnership with guitarist Reggie Lucas. Officially formed in 1978, Mtume’s line-up included James Mtume, Reggie Lucas, singer Tawatha Agee, keyboardist Hubert Eaves III, bassist Basil Fearrington and drummer Howard King. They signed to Epic Records and released their first two albums - Kiss This World Goodbye (1978) and In Search of the Rainbow Seekers (1980) – to little success. The original line-up split, and James Mtume put together a new group of musicians, although he retained vocalist Tawatha Agee from the first two albums. Mtume’s third album, Juicy Fruit (1983), was an enormous success, rising to Number 3 on the R&B chart. The title track was released as a single, reaching Number 1 on the R&B Singles chart. Mtume produced two other albums - You, Me, and He (1984) and Theater of the Mind (1986) – neither of which achieved the same kind of success that they enjoyed with Juicy Fruit. The band split up in 1986, but their musical legacy lives on in reissues and compilations such as Prime Time: The Epic Anthology (2017) and The Essential Mtume (2018). The legacy of the song “Juicy Fruit” was kept alive during the hip-hop era when it was sampled by many artists including Warren G, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Keyshia Cole, Faith Evans, and many others. James Mtume grew dissatisfied with the music industry in the 1990s and pursued a career in talk radio, where he discussed politics, culture, news, and activism. James Mtume died of cancer on January 9, 2022.

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