James Mtume, an R&B and jazz percussionist, recording artist and producer who rose to prominence in the 1970s, died on Sunday. He was 76. 

Mtume was well recognized for his work with trumpeter Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and pianist McCoy Turner, among other top jazz performers, as well as his 1983 smash “Juicy Fruit,” which was most famously sampled by The Notorious B.I.G. 10 years later. 

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Mtume, who was born James Heath Jr., was raised by his mother and stepfather, pianist James “Hen Gates” Forman, per Pitchfork. His stepfather played in Charlie Parker’s ensemble and physically introduced Mtume to some of the greatest jazz players of all time. 

“When he was 18 he was playing with Dizzy Gillespie, Lady Day, Dinah Washington, Sonny Stitt,” Mtume recalled of Forman in a 2014 interview with Red Bull Music Academy. “So many times when those artists were in town, they would stop by for dinner. Just imagine, you’re nine, ten years old and there’s Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins.”  

During the interview, Mtume said he was never “hip enough” to realize how amazing an experience that was, but he had always known jazz musicians to be an extraordinary group of clever and humorous individuals. 

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“There was nothing like sitting around a table of jazz musicians,” he added. 

Variety reported Mtume joined the U.S. Organization, a Black empowerment group founded by the same guy who developed the Kwanzaa holiday, while on a swimming scholarship in California in the mid-’60s. He recorded his first solo albums there, beginning with “Alkebu-Lan – Land of the Blacks.”  

He joined Miles Davis’ band for a four-year tenure after returning to the east coast shortly after, resulting in some of the jazz legend’s most daring pieces. 

Mtume founded his R&B-jazz band with Lucas and vocalist Tawatha Agee in 1978, releasing five albums before splitting sometime in the ‘80s. 

In addition to his activism, he continued his legacy by working as a producer on projects with musicians such as Mary J. Blige, K-Ci, and Jo-Jo. He also worked as a radio personality for KISS 98.7 FM in New York City. 

Following his death, condolences began to flood social media, including those from “Black News Tonight” host Marc Lamont Hill and Mtume’s “niece,” Lisa Lucas, daughter of the rock and roll legend David Lucas. 

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