Teena Marie – Rest In Peace “Lady T”
While I’m at an immediate loss for words over the death of one of our greatest Soul voices, I can remember the first time I ever heard Teena Marie’s music. My mom and I were in the car and Square Biz came on the radio. I remember hearing the rap at the end of the song and thinking it was the greatest thing I had ever heard. I wanted to be “Lady T”. Fast forward to the 2004 BET Awards, years later and I was blessed to see her and Rick James live. Her voice was as pitch perfect as it was the first time I heard her.
Teena Marie, a native of Venice, California, is indeed the “Ivory Queen of Soul”. Teena was way ahead of her time. Back when it was unusual for a woman to run a studio, she wrote, produced and arranged her own albums. She can actually be named one of the first female MCs, thanks to her verses on the classic hit “Square Biz”. Your favorite rapper has almost certainly sampled one of her hits. She was an icon and had provided us with some of the greatest music ever. From the coldest bass line intro on “I need your lovin”, to the international vibe of “Portuguese Love”, her sound could never be put in a box. She was Soul, Funk, Jazz, Blues, and Hip Hop. I watched her story on “Unsung” recently and was mesmerized by all that she had done. She wrote beautiful music. She fought Berry Gordy and Motown and Won. She changed the music industry for the better. She’s the reason that labels do what they say they’ll do. My heart feels like it lost a friend today. Thanks to her gift of music, she may be gone, but she’ll never be forgotten. Let’s have a toast to “Lady T”.
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