Lady T - R.I.P.

A couple of hours ago, the world learned of the passing of singer and songwriter, Teena Marie. She was often called "Vanilla Child", "Lady - T" and "One Of Us".

Every fan knows about the awards and the hits. Every fan knows about the love the Black Community has always had for her from day one and the love she constantly gave back. They also know about her relationship with the legendary Rick James.

She often spoke about her being White not being a factor when it came to expressing herself musically. She was a brash, funky, soulful rocker chick whose prowess with a guitar was often underrated...until you saw her LIVE !

Not everyone knows about the beautiful spirit that lived within her, even in the hardest times of her life. I had the honor of meeting her in the early 90's when she staged a major comeback. She'd given birth to two babies; her daughter and her record label, Sarai Records. Lady T was just as gracious and warm as the reputation that preceeded her.

She was excited and filled with the energy of promise, the kind of energy a musician feels when they've they've broken personal ground. The meeting was way too brief and the conversation could've gone on forever. There was quite a bit I could've learned at her feet, given the opportunity. As a musician and a woman, she had my utmost respect.

I hadn't seen Teena since that day in Los Angeles until July of this year at the Macy's Music Festival. She stole the show that night and performed with the same energy of promise that I felt from her all those years ago. The love we gave her was still there and she gave it back in abundance. Who knew that it would be the last time I'd ever see her ? I'm just glad that I did.

I'm honored to have been blessed with her energy, even if it was only for a little while. Those of you that loved her music will miss her and those of us that worked with her and got a chance to know her will miss her much more !!

Blessed Be Lady T !