At the age of 56, American musician Don Newkirk passed away. He was best known for his work with De La Soul and 3rd Bass.
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Rahiem, a member of the Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, made the following announcement on his Facebook page on November 26:
“I send my deepest condolences to my brother Don Newkirk’s family during this time of change. One of the first R&B artists to sign with Defjam was Don Newkirk. Peace be upon him.
Rahiem described to AllHipHop how he learned of Don Newkirk’s passing.
“Don’s daughter had called to tell him,” one of our close friends said over the phone.
Newkirk was well-known for his contributions to the albums 3 Feet High and Rising by De La Soul and The Cactus Album by 3rd Bass, on which he performed The Gas Face in 1989. The performer additionally released his solo album, Funk City, via the OBR/Columbia Records division of Def Jam Records. His two biggest hits, Sweat You and I Desire, are off the aforementioned album.
Don Newkirk anticipated greater success in his emcee career than in his singing career.
In 2021, Don Newkirk spoke about his solo album Funk City and how it used his voice in ways other than rapping:
I’ve never been a vocalist, so. As an MC, I’ve always been. But at the time, I merely thought that music was a better way to convey what I was attempting to save. Funk City was the result, which I think is amazing since it showed people a different side of myself. Additionally, the entire time that things with our team were going on.
Regarding his career, he responded as follows:
Maybe I would have been more successful. Three Feet High and Rising would have been released, and “Gas Face” was set to be released, if I had stuck to emceeing. Due to the fact that I was singing instead of spitting, I was in that entire camp but not quite in the Native Tongues camp.
But I’m happy with how it turned out because it left a legacy that, because we didn’t have the internet at the time, I’m only now realizing has had an impact.
The 1992 publication of the second album by the slain 56-year-old, Between Love & Lust, was put on hold when Def Jam Records sold the label to a subsidiary. Don joined Prince Paul, Ladybug Mecca, and Rodrigo Brando in the short-lived experimental group BROOKZILL! in 2016. They worked together on the album Throwback To The Future before breaking up.
To create the soundtrack for the Netflix documentary Who Killed Malcolm X, Don once more teamed up with Prince Paul. They previously contributed to and wrote the music for the independent film Pressure Cooker as well as the 2004 film The Best Thief In The World. In addition, the group contributed to Chris Rock’s Grammy-winning album Never Scared and wrote the title song for the podcast Mogul: The Life and Death of Chris Lighty.
Following the devastating news of Don Newkirk’s passing, internet users paid tribute to him.
Twitter users shared their condolences and recalled Don Newkirk’s contributions to the music industry after hearing the news of his passing. Other music stars, besides merely fans, paid tribute to the late artist.
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