Don Cornelius
September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012
Don Cornelius was the creator, writer, producer, and host of the extremely influential American dance program, Soul Train. Launched in October of 1961 after Cornelius noticed a void of nationally broadcast television shows that catered to the African-American audience, Soul Train ran until March of 2006. Cornelius hosted the program from its inception until 1993. Soul Train has been praised for influencing countless African-American kids while bringing black music into the white neighborhoods. Over the years, the show featured lip-synched performances by everyone from James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin, to Michael Jackson, Ice Cube and Prince. Two popular segments of the show were the “Soul Train Scrabble Board” where two dancers tried to un-scramble letters to identify a significant person in African-American culture, and the oft-imitated “Soul Train Line” where the dancers formed two lines and then strutted their stuff with a partner down the middle. In 1987, Cornelius launched the Soul Train Awards, a nationally broadcast program that honored the year’s best artists in R&B, Soul, Jazz and Hip-Hop. The show ran until 2000. Throughout the years, Cornelius was honored and/or parodied in countless sit-coms, rap songs, and films. In the early hours of February 1, 2012, police responded to the home of Don Cornelius where they found him dead of what initially appeared to have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 75.
Thanks to Bruce Kilgour at Slipped Disc Entertainment for the assist.
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Crishun “Rapstar” Moore was an up-and-coming Memphis rapper. A protegé of Let It Be Known Records CEO P. Moses, Moore was on his way to achieving his goal of being one of genres biggest stars. Over the course of his relatively short career, Moore shared the stage with Bow Wow, Young Jeezy, and Yo Gatti. Chrishun “Rapstar” was just 21 when he suffered a fatal heart attack on December 30, 2011.
Slim Dunkin was an up-and-coming rapper who was part of the hip-hop collective, 1017 Brick Squad / Brick Squad Monopoly. Formed in Atlanta in 2008, the group also includes Waka Flocka Flame, Wooh Da Kid, OJ Da Juiceman, Frenchie, and Gucci Mane, who has since become the CEO and leader of the group. Dunkin can be heard on several Waka Flocka Flame recordings as well as his own, and had just completed a 20-song mixtape. During the evening hours of December 16, 2011, Slim Dunkin was working in an Atlanta recording studio when he reportedly got into an argument with another individual. The altercation escalated to the point where Dunkin was believed to have been shot in the chest. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The presumed assailant remained unidentified in the immediate aftermath.
Karryl “Special One” Smith was one half of the popular San Francisco hip-hop duo, the Conscious Daughters. Smith formed the act with Carla “CMG” Green in 1992, and within a year, they were signed to Paris’ label, Scarface Records. Their first album, 1994′s Ear To The Street, included their first hit, “Somethin’ to Ride (Fonky Expedition).” They went on to secure a deal with the iconic Priority Records who released their follow-up, Gamers, which landed on the Billboard charts and sold upwards of 300,000 copies. More releases followed, including 2011′s The Jane Of All Trades. Special One was reportedly found dead inside her home on December 10, 2011. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Sylvia Robinson is best remembered as the founder and CEO of influential rap label, Sugar Hill Records who introduced most of the world to rap and hip-hop thanks to a stable of artists that included the Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Melle Mel, and the Treacherous Three. In doing so, Robinson was largely responsible for what we know as popular music, fashion, and pop culture today. Born in New York City, Robinson achieved a bit of success as a singer herself when she released the moderate hit, “Love Is Strange” in 1957. By the late ’60s, she had moved over to the label side of the business with her own company, All Platinum Records where she produced and released mostly soul records. In 1973, Robinson released another record, this time simply as Sylvia. It was called “Pillow Talk” and sold over 2 million copies, ultimately reaching #3 on the pop charts. It is widely considered one of the foundations on which disco was built, while its drumming rhythm would later be heard on “Running Up The Hill” by Kate Bush and “Big Love” by Fleetwood Mac. During the late ’70s, Robinson, her husband, Joe Robinson, and Milton Malden launched Sugar Hill Records where she quickly helped form the Sugarhill Gang who went on to release rap music’s first commercially successful single, 1979′s “Rapper’s Delight.” Robinson soon followed that with “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. That song is credited for bringing socially conscience lyrics to rap, and along with other early releases from Sugar Hill, introduced the fine art of sampling to the world. According to 