Producer Kashif, Whitney Houston Collaborator and B.T. Express Member, Dead at 59

Producer Kashif, Whitney Houston Collaborator and B.T. Express Member, Dead at 59

Songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Kashif Saleem has died at age 59, Billboard reports. Best known for his work with Whitney Houston and Evelyn “Champagne” King, Kashif passed away at his home in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 25, of “undetermined causes.”

Born Michael Jones, Kashif entered the music industry at age 15, performing in funk band B.T. Express. After that, he pursued a solo career, signing to Arista in 1983 and charting on the R&B charts eight times, with songs like “Love Changes” and “Baby Don’t Break Your Baby’s Heart.” Kashif was a part of the creative development team at New England Digital, helping to develop the innovative Synclavier, one of the earliest digital samplers. He worked on two of Whitney Houston’s earliest hits, “Thinking About You” and “You Give Good Love,” as well as Evelyn “Champagne” King’s hit single “Love Come Down.” Throughout his career, Kashif also collaborated with Barry White, Tavares, George Benson, Al Jarreau, and more.

I’m so devastated over this news. Forget the whole “2016 sucks!” talk. Kashif was a cat who truly made a shift & shaped the evolution of black music. Like HE is primarily the reason why I even agreed to do a radio show like #QLS. I wanted a chance to preserve & really tell his story. Nothing scares me more than the idea of passing on in silence. I’m mean, there are unsung heroes & then there are UNSUNG heroes. I’ll say next to #LeonSylvers & #LeroyBurgess (might as well throw #RodTemperton & #OffTheWall up in there too) no one helped evolve the genre of #Boogie more than this man. Boogie was a more refined slowed down feel of disco without all the cliche & corny it evolved into in the late 70s (I’m no disco basher, that whole #DiscoSucks movement that came to a head at the Tigers/White Sox game in Chicago (lol shame!) w #SteveDahl & #BillVeeck ending in a riot was the music version of #AllLivesMatter—a knee jerk racist & homophobic reaction to lifestyle and culture—but I do believe in general much like hip hop today that the creative art of disco was running out of ideas–really each genre has like 5 to 7 MAGIC YEARS—before labels come and squeeze the life out of it) so what Boogie did was slow disco down (think how Diddy came and slowed down rnb from its panic stricken New Jack/Public Enemy “music’s worst nightmare” madness) Boogie is the sound of your parents & aunties gettin down at a family reunion BBQ. If you see folk electric sliding to #SecondTimeAround #AndTheBeatGoesOn (Leon Sylvers) or #SomebodyElsesGuy or #GetOverLikeAFatRat (Burgees produced the later) THAT’S the sound: 4-on-the-floor kick drum w moog synths doin the rest. Kashif had classics after classics: #EvelynChampagneKing’s “I’m In Love” & “Love Come Down” his own “Baby Don’t Break Your Baby’s Heart” & “The Mood” (super classic!)—Clive Davis trusted him at the helm when the world got its first glimpse of Whitney Houston as a solo artist (“You Give Good Love” “Thinking About You”) wish I had met the brother to get more knowledge of his life & journey. This is a SAD day for music. Kashif Saleem’s Boogie will rock forever on. Rest In Melody.

A photo posted by Questlove Gomez (@questlove) on Sep 27, 2016 at 4:44am PDT

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