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"The Message," released by Englewood's Sugar Hill Records 40 years ago this week, made hip-hop what it is today.

The late Sylvia Robinson of Englewood, NJ, a pioneer producer of hip-hop, has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

New Affinity Groups Promote Multigenerational Support - New Affinity Groups Promote Multigenerational Support

After quitting the music industry to spend more time with his family, Fletcher earned master’s degrees from the New School in media studies and in education from Rutgers University. He got into teaching and was hired as a critical thinking and communication instructor at Savannah State University. He retired in 2019. “He loved his cigars, coffee, jazz and the beauty of his wife’s natural hair,” Fletcher’s former student Chelsea Caldwell said. “He gave us a whole lecture one time about embracing your natural self.” In a statement, SSU said, “Savannah State University is sad...

Duke Bootee, co-writer and producer of Grandmaster Flash’s ‘The Message’, has died. Bootee, born Edward Gernel Fletcher, died after suffering from heart failure at his home in Savannah, Georgia earlier this month. He was 69. Fletcher was an influential figure in early hip hop and rap production,  best known for his work alongside Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, co-writing and producing the 1982 record ‘The Message’ for Sugar Hill Records. The New York native left music in the early '90s to study teaching, and had been an instructor of Critical Thinking a...