Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys Pay Tribute to Teena Marie
News of R&B icon Teena Marie‘s death didn‘t break until late last night, but since then a number of tributes to the singer have already been written by her fans, contemporaries, collaborators and critics. Here are some of the homages to the Ivory Queen of Soul from around the internet.
R&B Singer Teena Marie Dead at 54
Mary J. Blige:
Tina Mari inspired me vocally as a child. Her songs I sang in the mirror with a hair brush. I‘m so hurt. I‘ll love u forever Tina Mari. Portuguese Love, Casanova Brown, Square Biz, I need your lovin, all of your music will live forever through me. In my heart she‘s Tina, So rest in peace Tina, i love u. Every girl that grew up in the hood, with her blasting through the windows, Cars and radio waves can Feel me. Rest in peace Teena Mari. My Love love for u is forever.
Alicia Keys:
God bless Teena Marie & her Family! Sending Blessings &prayers I was jus sayin tht fire & desire is 1 of the most beautifully performd songs! Once a beautiful song, always a beautiful song! Certain songs jus have that “THING“! What a SANGIN Lady! Fire & Desire
MTV.com remembers Marie as “the ultimate collaborator,“ reeling off a diverse list of artists the singer worked with over the years including Rick James, Faith Evans, Smokey Robinson, Common and Birdman.
Soul Train recalls Marie as an artist who broke big as a white artist in black music, and shares some classic footage of the singer on the show back in the ‘80s.
The Village Voice has put together a YouTube playlist of Teena Marie‘s biggest hits.
Pitchfork calls Marie an “R&B legend,“ and reminds us that music critic Chuck Eddy listed her 1986 album Emerald City as one of the best heavy metal albums of all time in his book Stairway to Hell. (Really.)
Rap-Up collected Twitter comments and remembrances from several R&B and hip hop stars including ?uestlove, Q-Tip, the Game, Estelle and Amerie.
Eddie Levert, founder of the R&B group the O‘Jays, told CNN “there are a lot of black people who swore by her and believed in her, as far as her music was concerned.”
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