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Michael Sumler, the longtime hype man for the Kool & The Gang band, died over Memorial Day Weekend after his vehicle was involved in a crash. Michael Sumler, also known as Chicago Mike, was a member of the band for several years.
Local outlet Fox 5 Atlanta reports that last Saturday (May 24), Michael Sumler was driving from the town of Mableton, Ga., after a performance at the Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre that evening. The outlet reports that Sumler collided with a vehicle while driving along the Veterans Memorial Highway in Cobb County.
According to the report, the crash occurred just before midnight, with Sumler dying at the scene of the crash. The other person involved in the crash survived.
Taking to Facebook, Kool & The Gang shared a statement regarding Sumler’s passing:
We’re deeply saddened to hear about the passing of our longtime wardrobe valet, Mike Sumler. Mike worked alongside Kool & the Gang from 2000-2015, making sure the guys looked their best on stage every night. He also hyped the crowd with his energy and dance moves at the top of the show. Most recently, Mike helped Kool with LeKool champagne events.Everyone here at Kool & the Gang has fond memories of Mike and will miss him. May he rest in peace.
Michael Sumler was 71.
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Charlie Rangel, the former congressman who represented several New York districts across his four-decade career, died on Monday (May 26) at the age of 94. Rep. Charlie Rangel’s storied career also included a stint in the military, where he became a decorated war veteran before completing his high school studies and going on to earn a law degree, culminating in a long life of public service.
Charlie Rangel was born Charles Bernard Rangel on June 11, 1930, in Harlem, N.Y. Rangel’s father was a native of Puerto Rico, and his mother was Black. As a young man, Rangel, who was raised primarily by his mother, took odd jobs before dropping out of high school at 16. Rangel enlisted in the United States Army, serving between 1948 and 1952. He was a member of the all-Black 503rd Field Artillery Battalion in the 2nd Infantry Division.
Fighting in the Korean War as part of a racially segregated unit, Rangel’s actions led his fellow soldiers to safety, earning him the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and three battle stars. Rangel returned home and completed his high school studies, then enrolled in the New York University School of Commerce. From there, Rangel went on to earn a law degree from St. John’s University School of Law in 1960.
Rangel was named the Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York by U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, staying in the role for a year. Rangel, under the tutelage of civil rights activist and Assemblyman Percy Sutton, would later serve as a state assemblyman, beginning his life in public office.
In 1970, Rangel challenged longtime congressman Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., who fell out of favor in the public eye with some due to an ethics scandal, losing his seat in 1967 but regaining it in 1969 after a U.S. Supreme Court decision detailed in the Powell v. McCormack case.
Rangel would go on to serve 23 terms in Congress before retiring in 2017. Along the way, he was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and became the first Black chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.
One of the hallmarks of Rangel was his no-nonsense approach to working for his constituents and his ability to work across the aisle with the opposing parties to get bills moved through the chamber. Rangel also had an affable personality that resonated well with his colleagues, and his distinctive New York accent was hard to miss.
As a member of the Gang of Four, which included David Dinkins, Basil Paterson, and the aforementioned Sutton. The quartet was notable for its ascension in the political realm.
In 2024, Rangel’s wife of 60 years, Alma Carter, passed away. He is survived by two children, Steven and Alicia, and three grandsons.
On X, reactions to the passing of Rep. Charlie Rangel have cropped up. We’ve got them listed below.
[h/t CNN]
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Val Kilmer, a prolific actor who got his start in the 1980s, starred in a series of films, both dramatic and comedic, throughout his long career. On April 1, Val Kilmer passed away from an illness, and fans on X are honoring the star.
Val Kilmer was born on December 31, 1959, in Los Angeles, California, according to a Wikipedia entry. Kilmer was accepted into the Juilliard School in its Drama Division and was reportedly the youngest person at the time to do so.
Kilmer began his stage career in 1981, and in 1983, he appeared in The Slab Boys with Kevin Bacon, Sean Penn, and Jackie Earle Haley. The following year, Kilmer appeared in Top Secret!, an action comedy directed by the filmmaking trio, Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker. Perhaps Kilmer’s biggest roles were star turns in Top Gun, Tombstone, The Doors, Heat, and voicing Moses/God in the animated film, The Prince of Egypt, among other roles.
In 2015, Kilmer suffered a health complication that sparked rumors in Hollywood that the actor was suffering from cancer, a fact he confirmed two years later in 2017 by revealing he was suffering from throat cancer. Initially, Kilmer didn’t seek medical treatment as it went against his Christian Science faith, but eventually did so.
Kilmer would continue to act after getting treatment, which rendered his voice a whisper, last appearing in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick opposite Tom Cruise in the role of Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky.
On X and across social media, many are honoring the life of Kilmer, including many of his peers in Hollywood. We’ve got those reactions in the gallery below.
Kilmer is survived by his daughter, Mercedes, and Jack, also an actor like his father. Val Kilmer was 65.
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Val Kilmer, a prolific actor who got his start in the 1980s, starred in a series of films, both dramatic and comedic, throughout his long career. On April 1, Val Kilmer passed away from an illness, and fans on X are honoring the star.
Val Kilmer was born on December 31, 1959, in Los Angeles, California, according to a Wikipedia entry. Kilmer was accepted into the Juilliard School in its Drama Division and was reportedly the youngest person at the time to do so.
Kilmer began his stage career in 1981, and in 1983, he appeared in The Slab Boys with Kevin Bacon, Sean Penn, and Jackie Earle Haley. The following year, Kilmer appeared in Top Secret!, an action comedy directed by the filmmaking trio, Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker. Perhaps Kilmer’s biggest roles were star turns in Top Gun, Tombstone, The Doors, Heat, and voicing Moses/God in the animated film, The Prince of Egypt, among other roles.
In 2015, Kilmer suffered a health complication that sparked rumors in Hollywood that the actor was suffering from cancer, a fact he confirmed two years later in 2017 by revealing he was suffering from throat cancer. Initially, Kilmer didn’t seek medical treatment as it went against his Christian Science faith, but eventually did so.
Kilmer would continue to act after getting treatment, which rendered his voice a whisper, last appearing in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick opposite Tom Cruise in the role of Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky.
On X and across social media, many are honoring the life of Kilmer, including many of his peers in Hollywood. We’ve got those reactions in the gallery below.
Kilmer is survived by his daughter, Mercedes, and Jack, also an actor like his father. Val Kilmer was 65.
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Alvin Poussaint, a psychiatrist who applied his studies to assist those within the civil rights movement, passed away on Monday (Feb. 24). Among Dr. Alvin Poussaint’s accomplishments, he was also instrumental as a consultant for several television series throughout his career.
Dr. Alvin Poussaint was born on May 15, 1934, in East Harlem, New York. As a studious child, Poussaint’s love of reading translated into his study and love of the sciences in high school. After entering Columbia University, Poussaint earned a pharmacology bachelor’s degree in 1956. He then entered Cornell Medical School and was reportedly the only Black student admitted that year and earned his M.D. in 1960. This experience shaped Poussaint’s worldview and was a continuance of the racism he experienced in high school and undergrad.
Poussaint would go on to become the chief resident at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute but left the role in 1965 to join the Medical Committee for Human Rights as its Southern Field Director in Jackson, Miss. Poussaint completed his residency in 1964 at UCLA, earning an M.A. degree. Poussaint focused his efforts at the time on working to dismantle racial segregation, arguing that racial bias was detrimental to the mental health of the Black community. While working for the committee, Poussaint and his colleagues administered care to those working in the civil rights movement, many of whom endured physical violence and mental warfare under the guise of segregation.
In 1967, Poussaint became a faculty member of Tufts Medical School where he served as the director of the school’s psychiatry program situated in a low-income housing project. He also used his time in the role to illustrate that race relations in the nation still needed to improve despite the strides made at the time. In 1969, Poussaint left Tufts and joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School, where he remained for the rest of his career as a professor and associate dean of student affairs. Even in those hallowed halls, Poussaint never put civil rights on the back burner and continued to champion the movement.
During the 190s, Poussaint was known as a media consultant for scripts for Black sitcoms, including The Cosby Show and A Different World among others. His role was to ensure that what was depicted onscreen truly mirrored the real lives of Black families and students along with highlighting the positives of Black family life. Government agencies such as the White House, the Department of Health, and the FBI also sought guidance from Poussaint.
Poussaint did have his fair share of critics, especially those who thought his assessment of racism as a mental health condition instead of a divisive systemic practice that placed Black people under its weight. While well-meaning, some believed that putting racism in the same realm as a mental health disorder discredited the very real racism Black and non-white people faced across the country.
Dr. Alvin Poussaint is survived by his wife, Dr. Tina Young Poussaint, with whom he had a daughter. His first marriage to Ann Ashmore ended in 1988 and the pair had a son. According to his spouse, Poussaint passed away in his Chestnut Hills, Mass. home.
Poussaint was 90.
[h/t The History Makers & The New York Times]
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Roberta Flack, an award-winning R&B vocalist, and songwriter who topped the charts in her time, died on Monday (Feb. 24). Roberta Flack earned her first big break after actor and director Clint Eastwood used one of her songs in his films.
Roberta Flack was born on Feb. 10, 1937, in Black Mountain, N.C., and grew up in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Arlington, Va. As a child, Flack was inspired by the gospel singers of her local church and took an interest in learning the piano as an instrument. Flack’s skills as a pianist led to her earning a scholarship to attend Howard University at the age of 15. Upon graduating, the classically trained Flack worked as a student educator before returning to North Carolina to teach ahead of returning to the D.C. area to teach at several schools.
In 1968, at the urging of her vocal coach at the time, Flack became a professional singer and she became a regular performer at Mr. Henry’s restaurant, which still stands today in Washington’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. In the 1970s, jazz legend Les McCann discovered Flack singing at a D.C. nightclub leading to an audition and wrote inside the liner notes of her 1969 debut album, First Take for Atlantic Records.
Things took a turn for the better for Flack when the aforementioned Eastwood used the Grammy Award-winning song “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” from First Take in his 1971 film, Play Misty For Me, helping the album soar to the top of the Billboard charts and cementing Flack’s status as a star.
Other hits for Flack include “Where Is The Love” alongside Donny Hathaway, “Feel Like Making Love,” and perhaps Flack’s biggest hit, “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” another Grammy winner, which was remixed by The Fugees in 1996 en route to becoming a global smash.
On X, formerly Twitter, music fans are remembering Roberta Flack. Keep scrolling for more.
[h/t: The Guardian]
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Voletta Wallace, the mother of the late Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, has died. According to still-developing reports, Voletta Wallace passed from natural causes.
TMZ was the first to report the news of Voletta Wallace’s passing, noting that the retired schoolteacher passed away in Stroudsburg, Penn. The outlet adds that Wallace was in hospice care in the Pennsylvania town according to Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac.
Wallace, a native of Jamaica, moved to Brooklyn N.Y. where she and George Latore welcomed their son, Christopher, who would later become known as rapper Biggie Smalls before taking on The Notorious B.I.G. stage name for legal purposes. Wallace raised her son as a single mom while working in education, and as Biggie’s star rose, she was a major fixture in his life.
After the tragic loss of her son, Wallace continued to uphold the legacy of The Notorious B.I.G. and oversaw his estate, including making certain that his daughter, T’yanna Wallace, and son, C.J. Wallace were taken care of. She also released the book Biggie: Voletta Wallace Remembers Her Son, Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G in 2005.
Via her Instagram page, several images of her and her son adorn the pages along with a consistent celebration of Biggie’s achievements in the industry and how his name still lives on in the minds of many. Online, fans are showing their respect and mourning the loss.
Rest in peace to Voletta Wallace.
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Chelsea Reject, a talented rapper out of New York who has worked alongside several underground acts such as the sprawling Beast Coast collective and others, has died. A GoFundMe for Chelsea Reject has been established by her partner to help with the costs of funeral services.
Chelsea Reject, real name Chelsea Alexander, as seen in The Express Tribune, worked alongside the likes of Mick Jenkins, Kota The Friend, Dirty Sanchez 47 of the Pro Era collective, CJ Fly, also of Pro Era fame, Joey BadA$$, AKTHESAVIOR of The Underachievers, and Raz Fresco among other underground notables.
Hip-Hop Wired has featured the Brooklyn native’s music in our CRT FRSH (Certified Fresh) playlist music roundup in times past. Reject’s last recorded project, Rogue alongside former Pro Era member T’Nah, was released in August of 2024. She also featured on Mahogany Jones’ “GO (Ma$terPiece Remix 2)” last year.
T’Nah shared a loving post in honor of CR via Instagram that we’ll share below in the gallery:
Haha we were so enthused and ready and everything was gonna change this year. She was my battery pack – we were JUST about to get back in the gym next this week. She would love that some of yall been in the gym on her behalf. Keep going. It’ll help.
Gon be so hard. To muster up the energy without you Chelsea. But yea. Not gonna take anything you taught me for granted!!!!
As seen in the Tribute piece, CR’s partner, Brian Harris, established a GoFundMe that, of this writing, has raised over 85% of its $15,000 goal.
To show your support for Chelsea Reject’s family, please follow this link. Keep scrolling to see some of CR’s past collaborators and recording partners share their condolences.
May Chelsea Reject rest powerfully in peace.
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Barry Michael Cooper, a writer who penned the screenplay for New Jack City and reportedly coined the phrase “New Jack Swing,” has died. Barry Michael Cooper’s other works include writings in The Village Voice and lent his abilities to other notable films etched in the lore of Black cinema.
According to a report from TMZ, Barry Michael Cooper passed away this past Tuesday (Jan. 21) in his adopted city of Baltimore, Md., where Cooper resided after penning screenplays for New Jack City, Sugar Hill, and Above The Rim, the “Harlem Trilogy” as the trio of films are sometimes called.
Prior to his screenwriting success in the 1990s, Cooper was a music critic for The Village Voice between 1980 and 1989. He also penned the piece “Teddy Riley’s New Jack Swing: Harlem Gangsters Raise A Genius,” with some giving him credit for naming the music style of New Jack Swing that Riley innovated as a producer and member of the R&B trio Guy.
Writer Nelson George penned a short but moving obituary piece for Cooper via his Substack site and highlighted the pair’s longtime connection and Cooper’s allegiance to Harlem despite relocating to Baltimore years ago.
From The Nelson George Mixtape:
Barry Michael Cooper died today in Baltimore, according to his son Mathew. It’ll take me a minute to gather all my thoughts, but just wanted to thank him for recommending to Robert Christgau at the Village Voice when I was trying to write for the Riffs section back in 1981. It was a key moment in my career and life. Barry helped define pop culture in the ‘80s and ‘90s with his early reporting on crack, by naming Teddy Riley’s sound “new jack swing,” and writing star vehicles for Wesley Snipes (New Jack City, Sugar Hill) and Tupac (Above the Rim.) Though he lived much of the last decades of his life in Baltimore, he was Harlem to his core.
Barry Michael Cooper was 66.
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Sam Moore, who found fame as part of the Sam & Dave duo that delivered the “Soul Man” hit, has died. According to Sam Moore’s publicist, the singer passed away last Friday after complications surrounding a recent surgery procedure.
Sam Moore was born Samuel David Hicks on October 12, 1935, in Miami, Fla. After his mother married his stepfather, Charlie Moore, he took the surname. Moore began singing in church choirs as a young man and joined doo-wop groups but gospel music was where he was a notable force. Moore would be discovered alongside his future Sam & Dave partner and fellow gospel singer, the late Dave Prather, in 1961 at Miami’s King Of Hearts Club and subsequently signing with Roulette Records, a label with reported New York mob ties and was home to acts such as Pearl Bailey and Frankie Lymon among others.
As was customary during this time, Sam & Dave signed with Atlantic Records in 1964 and were contracted out to Stax Records to construct and release records. The fruitful union spawned hits such as “Hold On! I’m Comin’,” “I Thank You,” and perhaps the duo’s best-known hit, “Soul Man” which was written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Booker T. & The M.G.’s, which provided backing instrumentation for several Sam & Dave tracks, was also on hand for the hit.
England’s The Times revealed in their obituary that Moore broke personal ties with his partner after Prather shot his wife in 1968. The pair would continue to perform together but officially split ways for good in 1981. The Times also notes that Moore fathered several children with multiple women and worked as a pimp and conman, some of which was mentioned in an autobiography, For the Record 3: Sam and Dave by Dave Marsh.
After kicking a heroin addiction, Moore would see a late-career resurgence, even re-recording “Soul Man” alongside Lou Reed for the 1986 film of the same name. He remained an active touring and recording musician up until 2022, joining Bruce Springsteen on the New Jersey rocker’s R&B and soul cover album, Only The Strong Survive.
As mentioned at the top of the article, Moore passed after complications from surgery in Coral Gables, Fla. but details are scant beyond that. It isn’t known the exact number of children and no obituaries that we’ve seen gave an accurate number.
Sam Moore was 89.
[h/t Associated Press]
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