James Mtume has died at age 76. The songwriter and musician from Philadelphia had a career as a percussionist, leader, songwriter and producer. In 1969 he recorded his first albums as a leader and those endeavors included players like his uncle Albert Heath, Herbie Hancock and Don Cherry. He spent most of the ’70s working in bands with jazz luminaries Miles Davis, Art Farmer, Sonny Rollins, Eddie Henderson and McCoy Tyner. By the end of the decade, he and Reggie Lucas would collaborate on writing and producing songs for R&B stars. The two met in Davis’s band and toured with Roberta Flack for a number of years. Their partnership crafted classic songs for Phyllis Hyman, Stephanie Mills, Lou Rawls, The Spinners and Flack.

Mtume was busy working with Lucas during this time in the ’80s but he still managed to put together his own group. Tawatha Agee, also a Philadelphia native, was the main voice of Mtume and would record on all five of their albums. The title track from their 1983 album Juicy Fruit was a number one hit and signature song that had some controversy. Epic Records told James Mtume that radio would not play the song because of the line “You can lick me everywhere” which was replaced in the video with “Candy kisses everywhere.” The song  became even more famous in 1994 when it was sampled for “Juicy” by rapper The Notorious B.I.G. The song is now an essential sample continually used in pop music.

Mtume would eventually have 11 singles to chart including “You, Me & He,” “Breathless” and “Give It On Up (If You Want To.) They recorded five albums before disbanding in the late ’80s. In the middle of the decade, he produced the album You Might Be Surprised for Roy Ayers. Mtume was musically active in the ’90s writing and producing for Mary J. Blige and R. Kelly. He also composed the theme song to the television show New York Undercover.  After retirin from the music industr he hosted the Open Line radio show on WBLS for two decades until 2013 and continued his activist work. 

 

 

 

 

 

[youtube id=”PA4ewBdKwl8″] Statik Selektah’s “But You Don’t Hear Me Tho'” with The Lox is from his current album, 8. His young daughter is his co-star and The Lox appear for their verses. There are cameos from DJ Premier, Joey Bada$$, Westside Gunn, Lord Finesse and more.

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James Mtume talks to Red Bull Music Academy about the way he created the song “Juicy Fruit” with the Linn drum machine. He also explains how he learned the connection between a boxer’s jabs and rhythm while working for Miles Davis. DJ Evil Dee shares his experiences of hearing and playing “Juicy Fruit” at parties and he demonstrates the making of his own version of the song. They both acknowledge how Biggie’s “Juicy” gave the song a renewed life.

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James Mtume, Reggie Lucas, Tawatha Agee, Basil Fearington, Hubert Eaves and Howard King were the members of Mtume. Bandleader James Mtume is the son of jazz saxophonist James Heath and he started playing percussion professionally in the ’70s with his father, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson. In the early ’70s he formed the group of his namesake and they recorded 8 albums. The general public know the band because of the famously sampled “Juicy Fruit” from their 1983 album of the same name. However, fans of the group have an appreciation for all of their releases because of Mtume’s uncompromising artistry that never catered to corporate politics and their star musicians. James Mtume met guitar player Reggie Lucas when they both played for Davis and together they would write notable songs for Mtume and other artists including Stephanie Mills, Roberta Flack and Phyllis Hyman. “Love Lock” comes from the 1978 project Kiss This World Goodbye. This album also contains the original version of “The Closer I Get To You” done with the mighty vocals of Tawatha Agee but made famous when covered by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway later that year.“Prime Time,” “C.O.D. (I’ll Deliver,)” “Tie Me Up,” “You, Me & He,” “You Are My Sunshine,” “So You Wanna Be A Star” and “Breathless” are a sample of the pith they brought to R&B. Mtume has also worked as a producer and writer for Lou Rawls, Roy Ayers, The Spinners, Gladys Knight, D’Angelo, LeVert, Chante Moore, Tawatha, Mavis Staples, The Last Poets, Joe, Nu Romance Crew, Tyrone Brunson and Marc Sadane. Other career highlights of his post-Mtume days include scoring the films ‘Sarafina’ and ‘Native Son.’ In addition to his film he was the musical director of the popular ’90’s TV show New York Undercover. In recent times James Mtume has worked as an on-air personality for New York radio. He can be heard every Sunday on WKRS from 10-12 co-hosting the OPEN LINE show with Bob Slade and Bob Pickett.