Share Mtume's legacy on his birthday, and every day

Celebrating the birthday of James Mtume, or simply Mtume, or to those close to him Baba, who will forever be honored as the legendary songwriter, bandleader, Black activist, athlete, percussionist and performer that he was. Born January 3rd, 1946 (New York Times' Mtume profile).

The next generation of music fans may already be familiar with the Mtume band and their hits like "Juicy Fruit" and some of them may know the story of the epic songwriting of the team up of James Mtume and Reggie Lucas (including songs like "The Closer I Get To You" and "Never Knew Love Like This Before").

For those in your circles who don't yet know how broad the impact of Mtume is, we encourage you to share his legacy and the stories of his influence on modern music including jazz, r&b, hip-hop and his own brand of "sophistifunk".

Here are just a few clips of Mtume imparting wisdom to the next generation of musicians and how they can grow.

Mtume on the "types of music" ..

Mtume on the "core elements of music" ...

Mtume on how to be a successful young artist today ...