*Philadelphia native James Mtume is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the release of “Juicy Fruit,” an R&B classic considered one of music’s most influential and sampled songs.
For five decades, the 71-year-old percussionist, composer and producer has moved “easily through genres including alternative jazz, R&B, hip-hop and film scoring, per pillytrib.com. And Mtume’s talent is in his blood.
“I would say I had a very special childhood growing up,” said Mtume.
“My biological father, James Heath, is a world-renowned saxophonist of the famous Heath Brothers. But the father who raised me, and I don’t use the word stepfather, was James Forman, who was also a jazz musician. He played with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and all those people. So, when I’m growing up, maybe at dinner one night, there’s Dizzy Gillespie, another night, there’s John Coltrane [or] Thelonious Monk,” he explained.
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“I was only 10-years-old, so I didn’t know how deep it was, but I did know it was extraordinary hearing these conversations with these great jazz musicians. At the same time, I’m growing up listening to the birth of R&B and soul — there’s James Brown, The Temptations, Motown — so I had a very interesting musical background coming up.”
The 1983 release of “Juicy Fruit” — featuring Tawatha Agee on lead vocals — exploded on the charts, AND became a much-sampled tune. The track has been used as the basis for at least 70 songs, most notably by The Notorious B.I.G. on his debut solo single, “Juicy,” Faith Evans for “Faithfully,” Keyshia Cole on her single “Let It Go” and Tamar Braxton on her hit single “The One.”
“The truth is you carry the DNA of everything you did into your new genre. That jazz background helped me bring that influence into R&B. Someone said I was very drastic, and it may sound like that. ‘Juicy Fruit’ is very different from the other stuff I did, but there are definitely rail tracks [to the past].”
To discover more of Mtume, stay connected at jamesmtumeonline.com
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