obit
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Rob Stone, the co-founder of the Cornerstone Agency and the Fader magazine, has died according to a social media post. The post shares that Rob Stone succumbed to cancer and kept the diagnosis private to shore up the bond with his family.
Rob Stone was born July 12, 1968, and graduated from the State University of New York at Albany in 1990. From there, Stone entered the music industry and joined SBK Records becoming the now-defunct label’s director of promotion. He then joined EMI, which reportedly owned SBK Records, and became its vice president of promotion. Stone then began working with Arista Records and Clive Davis and worked with several Bad Boy Records artists during that period.
In 1996, Stone co-founded the Cornerstone Agency with Loud Records chief Steve Rifkind, a Manhattan-based marketing firm, and was joined by his childhood friend, Jon Cohen after Rifkind stepped aside. The pair transformed the company of one of the leaders in the branding and music space. In 1999 Stone and Cohen founded the Fader, becoming one of the entertainment industry’s top magazines and digital outlets.
From Rob Stone’s Instagram page:
It is with a heavy heart and sadness we share the news of the passing of Rob Stone. Rob bravely fought cancer over the past year. He chose to keep his diagnosis private in order to focus on his family. He was a truly amazing person who lived an incredible life.
Here is another statement from Joh Cohen:
I will love you forever Rob Stone. Our partnership was incredible. The things we accomplished together we could have never dreamed of doing when we were 15. Yes we did want to kill each other at times but the love and respect we had in building our company for 28 years was special. But way bigger than our success was our friendship. There is no one I loved having at my side more than you. We experienced so much together. I will tell your story and our stories together for the rest of my life. There are so many incredible ones. Thank you for all that you taught me. Thank you for always having my back and thank you for always making me laugh. I will think of you at every Knick game, I will feel your presence every time I hear a Biggie song and laugh with you during every ridiculous NY Jet loss.
Stone was 55.
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Brother Marquis of 2 Live Crew fame was not a founding member of the controversial Hip-Hop outfit but was integral to its success. While the cause of death has not been announced, the group’s official Instagram page announced the passing of Brother Marquis with fans expressing shock.
Brother Marquis was born Mark Ross on April 4, 1966, and was raised in Rochester, N.Y. before moving to Los Angeles, Calif. with his mother as a teenager. While in Los Angeles, Marquis immersed himself in the music scene and put out music with fellow rapper Rodney-O as The Cautious Crew.
The first version of the 2 Live Crew was founded in Riverside, Calif. with DJ Mr. Mixx, the late Fresh Kid Ice (Christopher Wong Won), and Amazing Vee. After Amazing Vee vacated the group, Marquis joined the group and they helped establish the early roots of the Miami Bass sound before moving to Florida and subsequently signing to Luke Skywalker Records with the label boss Uncle Luke joining the group as its hypeman and manager.
The group saw a string of successful releases in the 1980s through the early 1990s built on the back of the raunchy raps of Brother Marquis and Fresh Kid Ice while Uncle Luke served a prominent role on wax. The group disbanded and reunited several times over, and before Fresh Kid Ice’s passing in 2017, there were talks of new music.
Condolences are in order towards the family and friends of Mark “Brother Marquis” Ross.
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Eminem burst onto the scene in the 1990s and employed his Slim Shady persona to allow the zanier parts of his brain to come forth. After teasing the so-called death of the character, Eminem published an obituary for Slim Shady in a Detroit newspaper in a leadup to a new album according to reports.
As spotted on Detroit Free Press, Eminem, 51, shared the fake obituary feature as an advertisement, and it seems like the artist born Marshall Mathers is serious about letting the persona go as he preps a new summer album.
From Detroit Free Press:
Under the label “OBITUARIES,” the blurb is headlined “Slim Shady Made Lasting Impressions,” with the subtitle “Fans ‘Will Never Forget’ Controversial Rapper.”
The piece goes on to remember Slim Shady as “a rogue splinter in the flourishing underground rap scene” who was introduced to the wider world on the 1999 hit single “My Name Is.” The ad describes the character’s “complex and tortured existence” and his “sudden and horrific end.”
On April 25, Eminem shared a cinematic clip on the NFL Network during this year’s NFL Draft stylized as a true crime drama featuring 50 Cent, which cleverly announced the title of his upcoming album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace). No date for the project has been announced.
Check out the spot below.
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Corey Williams, also known in the New York streetball ranks as “Homicide,” made his mark as a professional player overseas after fulfilling a promise to finish college ahead of his career. Williams, who had been battling colon cancer after a stage 4 diagnosis, passed away from the disease and several key figures on X are honoring the hoops legend.
Corey Williams was born August 3, 1977, and attended Rice High School in Harlem. While he didn’t receive any scholarship offers coming out of high school, Williams was invited to play at MCC–Penn Valley Community College, a junior college in Kansas City, Mo. Williams helped the team win the NJCAA Division II men’s basketball championship as a freshman and he made the JUCO first-team All-American as a sophomore.
Transferring to Alabama State University, a Division I school, Williams completed his criminal justice degree in 2000 as he promised to his mother. From there, Williams went undrafted and found growing fame in New York’s competitive streetball scene where he earned his Homicide nickname.
Through sheer will, Williams rose through the ranks of several basketball leagues such as the International Basketball Association and the United States Basketball League along with stints with the Harlem Globetrotters and playing briefly in the Dominican Republic. He also had stints in Brazil and Sweden
While Williams never made an official NBA roster, several teams added him to their summer and training camp rosters including the Denver Nuggets and the Toronto Raptors. He then joined the NBA Development League’s Dakota Wizards and helped the team win the 2006-07 D-League championship.
Much of Williams’ success came during his time playing in Australia’s National Basketball League and he was named the league MVP in 2010 while also making the All-NBL First Team. After his playing days were over, Williams worked as a commentator for the NBL then joined Fox Sports as a broadcaster in 2017.
According to reports, Williams was receiving colon cancer treatment as recently as two weeks before his passing. He is survived by two daughters, Bella and Gabi.
Currently on X, Williams’ nickname “Homicide” began trending. We’ve got reactions under the trending topic listed below.
Corey “Homicide” Williams was 46.
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O.J. Simpson, a former NFL star running back who later in life went into acting and other ventures, has reportedly died according to a family statement. Via social media, the family of O.J. Simpson says that he passed away on April 10 after a battle with cancer.
As seen on X, formerly Twitter, Simpson’s family says that his loved ones surrounded the former Buffalo Bills star during his transition.
From X:
On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer.
He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.
During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.
-The Simpson Family
The news came as a shock to many, although Simpson hasn’t been in the public eye as of late. In the 1990s, Simpson was villainized after the brutal murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, and friend Ron Goldman, and the fact he was later acquitted of all charges. Once seen as a popular pitchman for ads and a likable figure, the controversy surrounding his wife’s murder, including the late Johnnie Cochran’s defense tactics, painted Simpson in an unfavorable light with many.
In his later years, Simpson made a return to public life via reality television and became a known presence on social media, often taking pains to inform the public that it was him behind his account activity and not the work of others. Simpson further soured his image by way of his 2007 book, If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.
On X, folks are reacting to the news with memes and other sharp words that we’re merely reporting on. You can view those replies in the gallery below.
O.J. Simpson was 76.
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Chance Perdomo, an actor who starred in Prime Video’s The Boys spinoff series Gen V, died over the weekend. Perdomo, who was Afro-Latino, also starred in a popular Netflix series as well.
Chance Perdomo was set to begin production on the second season of Gen V and was traveling via motorcycle towards Canada when the accident occurred on March 30 in upstate New York, according to a report from Deadline. The outlet added in an additional report that Perdomo was heading to Toronto ahead of a scheduled April 8 table read session for the series.
The family and representatives for Perdomo shared the following:
His passion for the arts and insatiable appetite for life was felt by all who knew him, and his warmth will carry on in those who he loved dearest. We ask you to please respect the family’s wish for privacy as they mourn the loss of their beloved son and brother.
Perdomo starred as Andre Anderson on Gen V, which takes place in the same universe as The Boys and features several superpowered young adults wrestling with the weight of their powers. Perdomo also starred in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
“We can’t quite wrap our heads around this. For those of us who knew him and worked with him, Chance was always charming and smiling, an enthusiastic force of nature, an incredibly talented performer, and more than anything else, just a very kind, lovely person. Even writing about him in the past tense doesn’t make sense. We are so sorry for Chance’s family, and we are grieving the loss of our friend and colleague. Hug your loved ones tonight,” a producer for the series shared in a statement.
Chance Perdomo was 27.
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Louis Gossett Jr., a celebrated actor who became the first Black man to win a Supporting Actor Academy Award, has died. Louis Gossett Jr. was also an Emmy Award winner for his appearance in the Roots miniseries.
The Associated Press reports that Louis Gossett Jr. died early Friday morning (March 29) in Santa Monica, Calif., with the news confirmed by the actor’s first cousin, Neal L. Gossett.
Gossett was born on May 27, 1936, in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn in New York City. At the age of 16, a teacher encouraged Gossett to try out for an acting part on Broadway and won the part. Gossett starred in Take A Giant Step, although he had no formal training.
Acting became Gossett’s passion despite having athletic skills as a basketball player and was offered a scholarship at New York University. Instead, Gossett turned his attention to theatre and never looked back.
According to his cousin, Gossett was more than his riches and fame; he used his position to address racism and was aligned with the likes of Nelson Mandela and others.
“Never mind the awards, never mind the glitz and glamor, the Rolls-Royces and the big houses in Malibu. It’s about the humanity of the people that he stood for,” his cousin told the AP.
Gossett won the Supporting Actor Academy Award in 1983 for his role in An Officer and A Gentleman. That same year, Gossett also took home the Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe. He also was a star in television, winning his lone Emmy Award in 1977 for his role in Roots. Gossett also won a Best Supporting Actor – television Golden Globe in 1992 for his role in The Josephine Baker Story.
Gossett is survived by his son Satie and daughter Sharron.
Louis Gossett Jr. was 87.
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Gylan Kain, a founding member of the famed spoken word group The Last Poets, has died as shared in a recently published report. The family of Kain did not initially release details of his death, which happened early last month.
The New York Times reports that Gylan Kain died in the city of Lelystad in the Netherlands while at a nursing home. According to Kain’s son, Rufus Kain, his father passed away from heart disease.
As seen on the website of founding The Last Poets member Abiodun Oyewole, the group got its start in 1968. Below is an excerpt from the biography section of Oyewole’s page:
The Last Poets were born on May 19, 1968, when David Nelson, Gylan Kain, and Abiodun Oyewole read poetry at a memorial for Malcolm X. Their goal was to be a poetic voice for Malcolm’s call for self-determination and Black Nationalism. Like many black activists of the time, they were tired of Martin Luther King’s integrationist agenda. They were much more influenced by the politics of radical members of the SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee), the SDS Students for a Democratic Society), and the Black Panthers.
The name of the group was taken from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse William Kgositsile, who posited the necessity of putting aside poetry in the face of looming revolution: “When the moment hatches in time’s womb there will be no art talk,” he wrote. “The only poem you will hear will be the spearpoint pivoted in the punctured marrow of the villain….Therefore we are the last poets of the world.”
Fans of Earl Sweatshirt might know that the late Kgositsile is his father and has been a focus in some of the rapper’s lyrics throughout his career.
The Last Poets are often seen as the precursor to the Hip-Hop pillar of rapping, and their recorded works have been sampled by Hip-Hop artists. Further, many of the group’s members and their various incarnations have worked alongside the likes of Common, Nas, and Public Enemy among others.
Kain shortly turned to acting after his initial stint with the group and performed in a handful of stage productions. In the 1980s, Kain relocated to Amsterdam and continued to record music, and remained an actor. He was previously married to June Lum and the couple had three children.
Gylan Kain is survived by Rufus Kain, Khalil Kain, Khayyam Kain, Khayyam Kain, and Amber Kain along with seven grandchildren.
He was 81.
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03/13/2024
Billboard pays tribute to the executives, songwriters, managers, producers, promoters, radio hosts and more who passed on this year.
03/13/2024
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Akira Toriyama, an influential figure in the world of anime and creator of the Dragon Ball franchise, died at the top of the month, according to reports. Akira Toriyama, who did not relish the limelight, was said to still be working on several projects up until the time of his sudden passing.
Akira Toriyama was born in the capital city of Nagoya of a prefecture, Aichi, in Japan on April 5, 1955, as explained in an Associated Press report. Toriyama said that Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy and other manga series popular in the 1960s informed his interest in drawing anime, and he was also fond of series such as Ultraman.
Toriyama published his first manga in 1978 with Wonder Island but it was his Dr. Slump series in 1980 that launched him into becoming a star of his world. In 1984, Toriyama began the first manga run for Dragon Ball, which ran until 1995. The series was then adapted into an anime television series in 1986 and ran until 1989. The anime series received a sequel Dragon Ball Z, running from 1989 to 1996.
Beyond Dragon Ball, Toriyama also designed characters for the popular Dragon Quest video game series as well. Dragon Ball inspired several toys and video games which influenced an entire generation of fans and still holds sway in many circles today. That was evidenced in the outpouring of admiration and respect for Toriyama after the news of his death was announced by his Bird Studio company on March 8.
Akira Toriyama is survived by his wife Yoshimi Katō, and their son and daughter. He was 68.
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