Funny thing, I have never personally met Wendell B., also known as Wendell Brown, but I did follow his music. Especially, one song in particular, STL Thang, a very smooth tempo R&B tune, that was a hit with steppers across the country.
In addition to being smooth, my colleague The Stepp-Tacular Steppers of Kansas City, would always bop to the song, as one of their many anthems. Consequently, it took me many “ears” to truly get the song.
But upon understanding the significant impact of the dance physics, I’d then realized why the video garnered 2.5 million views on You Tube.
Wendell Brown’s touched so many fans with his voice, and his social media courtesies. Over the course of a few months, even when he was having health setbacks, he still kept his fan in the loop of his new music.
However, today, it was learned that he died after a battle with prostate cancer, an illness we black men need to discuss more freely. And my thoughts and prayers are with Wendell Brown’s family.
All Music.com:
Wendell Brown is a Southern R&B artist whose inspirations as a vocalist range from Bobby Womack and Barry White to the relatively smoother likes of Luther Vandross and Will Downing. Whether recording under his full name, as simply Wendell, or (most commonly) as Wendell B., the St. Louis, Missouri native has kept the blues in R&B, unlike the vast majority of commercial R&B that has circulated since his early-’90s debut. Brown emerged during the early ’90s with the single “Yu Want 2 Play Me” and released his debut album, Make It Good for Ya, later in the decade. After that, he went fully independent with his own label, Smoothway. Among his self-released full-lengths are Good Times (2005), Love Life and Relationships (2008), In Touch with My Southern Soul (2010), Get to Kno’ Me… (2013), and The Next 1 (2016)
From Genius Celeb.com:
His inspirations are also smoother artists like Bobby Womack and Barry White.
Contrary to the overwhelming majority of commercial R&B circulating since his early 1990s debut, the St. Louis, Missouri native has retained the blues in R&B, whether recording under his full name, as just Wendell or as Wendell B.
We are unfortunate to report the demise of Wendell B. Please keep your loved ones, friends, and supporters in your prayers.
People recalled their favorite times and encounters with the adored musician, underscoring his influence on the music industry.
Additionally, be mindful of the family’s need for privacy while they cope with their loss.
More:
From 2010 to 2012, Black men had a higher lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer and a higher prostate cancer mortality rate than Caucasian American men (18.2% vs. 13.3% and 4.4% vs. 2.4%, respectively)
One in six Black men will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime. Overall, Black men are 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with—and 2.1 times more likely to die from—prostate cancer than white men. Black men are also slightly more likely than white men to be diagnosed with advanced disease.
