As 2024 comes to an end, The TRiiBE remembers some of the legends that passed away this year. From acting giants to music pioneers to extraordinary athletes, our newest ancestors collectively created, changed and improved the culture.
While we are sad to see them go, we look forward to honoring their legacies and impact on the culture.
Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers is perhaps best known for his role embodying boxing star Apollo Creed in the film series Rocky. Weather’s rendition of the cocky and strong Creed, opposite Sylvestor Stallone’s Rocky, created a boxing fantasy world in the 1980s that still reverberates today.
Besides being a driving force in Rocky, Weathers showed his humor in Adam Sandler’s 1996 film Happy Gilmore, as golf pro Chubbs Peterson who coached Happy (Sandler) to the esteemed gold jacket. Weathers would later thrill Star Wars fans in 2019 by popping up in a new role as Greef Karga in Disney+’s critically-acclaimed The Mandalorian.
Weathers, 76, died on February 2, 2024 from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Louis Gossett Jr.
With a career spanning over six decades on television, screen and stage, Louis Gossett Jr. first received critical acclaim in 1959 for his portrayal of George Murchison in A Raisin in the Sun.
A pioneer in his own right, Gossett Jr. would contribute to a surge of prominent Black talent on Broadway and on the big screen. Just imagine Sidney Potier and Gossett Jr. on the same stage, simply magical.
In 1961, Gossett Jr. appeared in the original cast of Jean Genet’s “The Blacks,” the longest running off-Broadway play of the decade, running for 1,408 performances. The original cast also featured the likes of James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, and Maya Angelou to name a few.
Again, magical.
Gossett spent more time on and off Broadway, including playing the Fiddler on ABC’s 1977 miniseries Roots. In 1982, he made history by becoming the first Black person to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the first Black actor to do so. This was for his iconic role as drill sergeant Emil Foley in the romantic drama An Officer and a Gentleman.
Over his career Gossett Jr. earned two Golden Globes, a Daytime Emmy, and two NAACP Image Awards, along with a plethora of nominations.
Most recently, Gossett can be seen in the musical movie version of The Color Purple, released in 2023. A beloved figure in the entertainment business, Gossett Jr. died on March 29, 2024 at the age of 87.
Chance Perdomo
Chance Perdomo was a young star, beginning to make a name for himself. Unfortunately, while heading to film the second season of Netflix hit show, “Gen V,” Perdomo crashed his motorcycle, and passed away on March 30, 2024 at the age of 27.
Born in Los Angeles, Perdomo moved to England as a child, and grew up there.
The actor’s breakout role was in Netflix’s “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” (2018-2020). He was also nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his role as “Jerome” in the drama Killed By My Debt (2018). In 2019, he was named screen International Star of Tomorrow and BAFTA Breakthrough Brit.
OJ Simpson
The late Orenthal “OJ” James Simpson was an American professional athlete, actor, and media personality who played in the NFL for 11 seasons. He is also known as the guy who singlehanded made TV news a must-watch event in 1994 when he drove a white Ford Bronco down an LA highway, leading police and TV news helicopters on a car chase after being accused of the murder of his ex-wife. Simpson died on April 10, 2024 after a battle with prostate cancer.
The 1968 Heisman Trophy winner played in six Pro Bowls from 1969 to 1976, was a first-team All-Pro five times from 1972 to 1976, and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1973. Culturally, Simpson knocked down barriers for Black athletes when he filmed a 1975 television ad for Hertz. His run through an airport with a suit and a briefcase cemented him a pop culture icon.
In 1994, the star was charged with double homicide and was acquitted of the murders. The verdict was announced live on television, with an estimated 100 million people watching. Simpson later served time in jail after being found guilty of theft in a sports memorabilia heist. The nation was polarized with the first trial and became freshly polarized with the second. Both trials sparked racial tension, as well as continuing the public dialogue around corrupt police and a flawed justice system.
Chuck Roberts
Regarded by many as “The Voice Of House Music,” Chuck Roberts is best known for his impassioned sermon on Rhythm Controll’s 1987 hit, “My House,” which starts off with, “In the beginning, there was Jack!”
A West Side native, the actual identity of “The Voice” was unknown for years, as the sample would go on to be used by DJs around the world, serving as a sort of “pledge of allegiance” to the underground House genre.
In 2017, Roberts took the stage at the Chosen Few Picnic in Jackson Park, where he performed “The Sermon” live for the very first time. The performance went viral, with everyone in attendance in total shock, seeing, and hearing his voice in person for the very first time.
The performance led to new opportunities for Roberts, including a record deal, a collaboration with legendary House DJ Terry Hunter, and a call from Beyonce’s camp, asking for permission to sample “The Sermon” during live performances on her Renaissance World Tour.
Roberts, 66, passed away on June 6, 2024 after a battle with cancer.
Willie Mays
Willie Mays is largely considered one of the best baseball players to ever live. A true pioneer, Mays entered the MLB in 1951, just four seasons after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. He was the 17th Black player to play in the MLB, and played a whopping 22 seasons from 1951 to 1973.
Mays was an extraordinary athlete with undeniable talent. Drafted right after graduating high school, Mays had an immediate impact in the MLB, winning the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1951. The 24 time All Star would go on to twice be named the MVP ( in 1954 and 1965,) and he led the San Francisco Giants to the 1954 World Series.
Mays is a member of the 3,000-hit club, with 3,293 hits in his career. He also led the league in home runs four times and won 12 consecutive Golden Glove awards. On April 30, 1961, against the Milwaukee Braves, Mays became one of 18 players in MLB history to hit four home-runs in one game. He did it while battling food poisoning.
He also was drafted into the Army in 1952 and served in the Korean War for one year.
Mays, 93, leaves a legacy, and a resume, that puts him in the baseball GOAT conversation. He passed away June 18, 2024 due to heart failure.
Fatman Scoop
Born Isaac Freeman III, Fatman Scoop was a rapper, TV and radio personality, and promoter.
He will forever be remembered for his 1999 hit “Be Faithful,” featuring the Crooklyn Clan, famously giving everybody a reason to “put your hands up.” The song became a global success after being rereleased in 2003. It is a club and festival banger to this day.
During his career, Scoop was honored with several awards, including a Grammy for best short form music video in 2006 for “Lose Control” by Missy Elliott. The collaboration was also nominated for best rap song.
Scoop’s larger than life persona contributed to a major pivot in reality television. In 2008, Fatman Scoop and his ex-wife, Shonda Freeman, starred on the MTV reality TV show “Man & Wife,” largely known as the first show to highlight a married couple in hip-hop. There’s no coincidence “Love & Hip Hop” would make its debut three years later in 2011.
Scoop, 56, died on August 30, 2024.
Tito Jackson
Toriano Adaryll “Tito” Jackson, founding member of the Jackson 5, died on September 15, 2024 from a heart attack. We remember Jackson as not only the guitarist for The Jacksons but perhaps as the reason why the group existed in the first place. If he hadn’t defiantly played his father’s guitar, as depicted in the film, The Jacksons: An American Dream, who knows if the group would have formed?
The Jackson 5 rose to fame swiftly; their success was unprecedented. They were the first group whose first four singles – “I Want You Back,” “ABC”, “Stop The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There” — all debuted on the Billboard hot 100 chart.
Tito was talented, but unfortunately wasn’t allowed to play the guitar for the recordings of those songs. Motown instead used studio musicians for those recordings. The Jackson 5 would leave Motown in 1976, in search of more creative control with Epic Records.
“He was low-key and at the same time commanded respect…the same respect he showed to others,” Motown founder Berry Gordy once said to Rolling Stone. “You could say Tito was the glue that held the Jackson 5 together on their journey to superstardom.”
John Amos
Everyone’s favorite Black TV dad, John Amos, rose to stardom while playing James Evans in the 1970s sitcom “Good Times,” which was set in a fictionalized version of Chicago’s Cabrini Green housing project. He portrayed a stern father figure who didn’t tolerate nonsense from his three children. His character is beloved by American culture.
The roles Amos embodied became legendary, such as his turn as the adult Kunte Kinte in the 1977 TV mini-series, Roots. Amos also made appearances on popular TV show, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” as the father of main character Will’s love interest, Lisa. We’ll cherish forever how he famously and hilariously played Cleo McDowell, owner of McDowell’s, a “bootleg” McDonalds, in Eddie Murphy’s seminal 1988 classic Coming to America.
Amos died on August 24, 2024, but his death wasn’t announced until October. The cause was heart failure.
James Earl Jones
EGOT legend James Earl Jones had a voice that could shake a room.
Not only did he star as the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars film saga, but he also is the voice of the tagline of CNN. When Jones passed away on September 9, 2024, the world mourned a vocal monolith. And, while his role as Vader thrust him into legendary status, his role as the voice of Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King solidified him as one of the greatest voice actors of all time.
Jones appeared in many stage productions, first making a name for himself in theater. He won two Tony Awards for best leading actor in a play for his role as a boxer named Jack Jefferson in 1968’s The Great White Hope, and for his turn as a working class father in August Wilson’s seminal work Fences in 1987.
In total, he took home three Tonys, two Emmys, a Grammy and an Oscar, making him a rare winner of every major award in American entertainment.
In 2022, Broadway’s Cort Theater was renamed the James Earl Jones Theater, which is the second Broadway theater named after a Black entertainer. (Lena Horne was the first to have the honor.)
His talent made every project a masterpiece.
Michaela DePrince
Born in Kenema, Sierra Leone and raised by adoptive parents in New Jersey, Michaela DePrince overcame international odds at an early age and became the youngest principal dancer at the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
She would go on to make a name for herself in the community, most notably dancing in Beyoncé’s Lemonade music video album.
She joined the prestigious Boston Ballet as a second soloist in 2021 as well as starred in the TV show “Dancing with the Stars” at only 17 years old.
Her spokesperson wrote that her artistry “touched countless hearts” and her spirit had “inspired many, leaving an indelible mark on the world of ballet, and beyond.”
She died on September 10, 2024 at the age of 29.
Frankie Beverly
Our very own “silky silky soul singer,” Frankie Beverly died this year at the age of 77. For decades, Beverly and his group Maze gave the community songs that capture the essence of Blackness.
Songs like “Happy Feelin’s,” “Before I Let Go,” and “Joy and Pain” are timeless classics often played at barbecues, family reunions, and Black festivals. In 2012, Beverly won the BET Lifetime Achievement Award. He also received an NAACP Image and Lifetime Achievement Award.
It is notable that while Beverly was presented with these awards later in his career, he was never awarded music’s most heralded award — the Grammy — during the height of his career. Nevertheless, Beverly’s music seems to age like wine, and even gain new life, with Beyonce covering “Before I Let Go,” for her Homecoming album.
Earlier this year, Frankie Beverly and Maze embarked on the “I Wanna Thank You Farewell Tour,” a six-city event. The extreme loyalty of his fan base was evident, as fans flocked to arenas by the thousands, dressed in Beverly’s traditional all white attire.
While the cause of his death is unknown, what we do know is Beverly will continue to be played at every Black function. It’s safe to say his music will never pass away.
Cissy Houston
Cissy Houston, renowned gospel singer and the mother of Whitney Houston, passed October 7, 2024.
Houston, 91, was a force in the world of soul and gospel. In the 1960s, she formed the R&B group, The Sweet Inspirations, which sang backup for acts such as Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Lou Rawls, The Drifters, Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick.
As a solo artist, she sang with Chaka Khan, Jimi Hendrix, Beyoncé, Paul Simon, and her late daughter Whitney Houston, to name a few.
We even remember Cissy’s small cameo as a choir member named Mrs. Havergal in 1996’s Christmas classic The Preacher’s Wife, which her daughter, Whitney Houston, starred in.
Houston would pivot into gospel, racking up two Grammys, as she won Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album in 1996 for Face to Face and in 1997 for He Leadeth Me.
Quincy Jones
A music and film producer, conductor, arranger and more, Quincy Jones lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on November 3, 2024 at 91 years old. A true treasure, Jones blessed the world with magical music moments that span generations.
Born in Chicago, Jones was raised and spent his childhood in Seattle. A multi-instrumentalist, Jones skillfully played the piano and trumpet. As a trumpet player, he backed artists like Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Elvis Presley.
Over the course of his career, Jones would contribute to the success of many. As a producer and arranger, he’s worked with fellow icons, like Frank Sinatra on songs like “Fly Me To The Moon.” As a solo artist, Q’s “Soul Bossa Nova” was and still is a banger, oft-used in film and at dance competitions.
Other notable icons Jones has worked with include Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. What was already a great resume would only become greater when he teamed up with Michael Jackson. The two would make history, and Jones would go on to produce the holy trinity of Jackson’s albums, Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad.
Everything Jones touched seemed to turn to gold. So when he decided to try his hand in movies and television, it was magic all over again. Jones scored several films, including The Color Purple, In the Heat of the Night, and The Wiz, a Black adaptation of the original Wizard of Oz, which was released in 1939. He executive produced “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” and is largely recognized as the person that discovered Will Smith as an actor.
In 1993, Jones founded VIBE Magazine. The magazine expressed the voice of a new generation and wave in music. Even while highlighting Black artists and catering to Black audiences, VIBE still had massive crossover appeal– which was one of Jones’ super powers.
Essentially working until the day he died, Jones goes down as one of the hardest working men in show business. A week before he passed, a deluxe version of his collaborative 1984 album with Frank Sinatra was released, titled L.A. Is My Lady. The album debuted at No. 22 on the Billboard Jazz album charts.
Tony Todd
The actor who portrayed Candyman might have moved on to live with the ancestors, but his film Candyman will live forever in pop culture. The actor was best known for his portrayal of a mythical terror with an origin story that kicked off in the (now torn-down) Cabrini Green housing projects.
Per the movie lore, if you said Candyman three times while looking in the mirror, the sociopath would climb out and wreak havoc. Candyman is a Chicago cultural staple and Todd’s role in it is considered to be one of the best acting jobs in horror film history.
Todd, a prolific actor, appeared in over 200 films and tv shows. It’s notable that Todd was an extremely gifted voice actor, and had a knack for voicing the bad guy. He lent his gift to many of the “Fallen” in Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), “Zoom” in The Flash (2014–2023), “Darkseid” in the DC Animated Movie Universe (2015–2020), and “Venom” in the 2023 video game Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
He died on November 6, 2024 at the age of 69 from an undisclosed sickness.
Judith Jamison
Known as an unparalleled force in American dance, a powerhouse performer, and a visionary leader, Judith Jamison passed away on November 9, 2024 at the age of 81. She danced with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 1965 to 1980, founded by modern dance pioneer Alvin Ailey.
Jamison is most known for her sensational performance of Alvin Ailey’s “Cry,” a three-part solo that premiered in 1971. For her contributions to the PBS documentary A Hymn for Alvin Ailey, Jamison was awarded with Kennedy Center Honors in 1999, as well as an Emmy American Choreography Award for her work on the project. She would rack in more medal.
Ailey would serve as Jamison’s mentor until his death in 1989. That’s when Jamison returned to the company to serve as their artistic director from 1989 until 2011.The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater announced in a statement on social media, “We remember and are grateful for her artistry, humanity and incredible light, which inspired us all.”
Maurice “Reese G” Walker
Remember the slow banger “Ohh Ahh,” which was released in 2002? The lead singer of that group, 3 Piece, passed away the first week of December 2024. Maurice “Reese G” Walker, was 49, and part of a Chicago revolution of sultry R&B that eventually swept the country. Known for their seductive R&B sound, 3 Piece made history, becoming one of Chicago’s most prominent R&B groups.
They even famously changed the lyrics to “Ohh Ahh,” to promote radio station 107.5-WGCI. If you listened to ‘GCI at the time, that remixed version is the one you heard.
While the cause of his death is unknown, his brother, and bandmate, Martin “Lucky” Walker, posted a note on Facebook. It read: “ I’m proud of my brother and what he contributed to my life, our family’s lives, our fans’ lives, to Chicago music history and beyond.”
Domonique Brown
Domonique Brown co-founded an online community named Black Girl Disney in 2018. It was dedicated to making the Disney influencer space more inclusive to people of color.
On her website, she and her cofounder Mia Von write: “Like most things that lack representation, new platforms are created out of a necessity to see yourself. We wanted to create a space where we were not only represented, but centered!”
The influencer died on December 5, 2024 at the age of 34 after reportedly suffering from an allergic reaction at an industry event.
Nikki Giovanni
Activist, womanist and poet extraordinaire Nikki Giovanni became known in the 1960s, contributing to the rise of the Black Arts Movement. She was the recipient of many awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal, along with an NAACP Image Award and a Grammy for her poetry album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection.
Some of her most influential work was published in the 1968 book Black Judgement. She followed up with 1983’s Those Who Ride The Night Wind.
Giovanni, 81, passed away on Dec. 9, 2024, after a battle with lung cancer. She is without question one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century. Her thoughts on race, politics, gender and sexuality were ahead of her time, and an inspiration to our thoughts today.
Rickey Henderson
Rickey Henderson, born in Chicago, was raised mostly in Oakland, California. Nicknamed the “Man Of Steal,” the baseball legend put the fear of God into pitchers. Over 25 seasons in the MLB, spanning from 1979 to 2003, Henderson stole 1,406 bases. He’s the all-time MLB stolen base leader.
“If my uniform doesn’t get dirty, I haven’t done anything in the baseball game,” Henderson once said.
He also was a threat at bat, largely considered to be the best leadoff hitter of all time. Henderson hit a career 297 home runs, and drove in 1,115 runs. He also set MLB records for total career runs scored (2,295) and unintentional walks (2,129).
Adding on to his decorated career, Henderson was a 10-time All-Star, two-time MVP, and two-time World Series champion. He was a Gold Glove Award recipient, as well as a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner. In 2009, he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
When learning of Henderson’s passing, dual sport legend Deion Sanders shared a heartfelt message on instagram. “Rickey Henderson is my Baseball Hero!” Sanders wrote. “I wanted to play like he played, I wanted the patience at the plate he had & the understanding of the art of base stealing.”
The Oakland A’s legend died on December 20, 2024.
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