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Bob Power, legendary hip-hop engineer behind A Tribe Called Quest and D’Angelo records, dies aged 73
Legendary hip-hop engineer and producer Bob Power has died at the age of 73. The Clive Davis Institute at NYU, where he served as a professor, confirmed the news on Tuesday (March 3), according to Rolling Stone.
Throughout his career, Power helped shape the sonic identity of hip-hop and neo-soul. His work touched records from A Tribe Called Quest, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, The Roots, and J Dilla, among many others.
Born in Chicago in 1952, Power later moved to New York City before studying music theory at Webster College in St. Louis. After completing his studies, he spent time in California producing music for commercials and the PBS television series Over Easy.
However, the early 1980s brought him back to New York, where he quickly immersed himself in the city’s rapidly evolving hip-hop culture.
Defining an era of hip-hop production
Power soon became closely connected with the influential Native Tongues collective, a movement that reshaped alternative hip-hop during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In 1990, he worked with A Tribe Called Quest on their landmark album ‘The Low End Theory’, widely regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop records ever made.
Later, Power joined Sony Music, where he continued producing and engineering projects for artists including The Roots, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, and J Dilla. His work also earned two GRAMMY nominations, first for Me’shell Ndegeocello’s ‘Peace Beyond Passion’ (1996) and later for India Arie’s ‘Acoustic Soul’ (2001).
Tributes from the music community
Following news of his passing, artists across the music world shared tributes honoring his influence.
Questlove reflected on Power’s role in shaping the sound of an entire generation. Writing on Instagram, he described him as “a laser-focused craftsman of sound,” while crediting him with teaching artists how to present music with clarity and power.
Meanwhile, Erykah Badu also paid tribute, writing: “What a great loss for the music community today. The great engineer, producer, mentor and friend Bob Power has traveled on.”
Later in life, Power continued mentoring young musicians as an Arts Professor at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
His family requested that, instead of flowers, donations be made to National Public Radio (NPR) in his memory.
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