Mtume (pronounced em-tu-may) was an American funk and soul group that rose to prominence during the early 1980s and had several R&B hits during its career. Its founder, former percussionistJames Mtume, previously played and toured with Miles Davis in the early 1970s.[1] Other members of the group included Reggie Lucas, Philip Field, and vocalist Tawatha Agee. Mtume also gained recognition after having its hit single "Juicy Fruit" extensively sampled by many hip-hop artists, most notably by the Notorious B.I.G. in the 1994 hit song "Juicy".[1]
Hubert Eaves III (1978–1980) Reggie Lucas (1978–1980) Basil Fearrington (1978–1980) Howard King (1978–1980) James Mtume (1978–1986) Tawatha Agee (1978–1986) Philip Field (1982–1986) Ed "Tree" Moore (1982–1986) Leslie Ming (1982–1986)
During the start of the group's career, they recorded three albums, their first for Strata East (1972) titled Alkebu-Lan- The Land of the Blacks, and two for the independent label Third Street Records: Kawaida (1973); Alkebu-Lan[2] (1975); and Rebirth Cycle[3] (1977). However, not finding pop or R&B chart success, they signed to major label Epic Records in 1978, releasing the albums Kiss This World Goodbye (1978), and In Search of the Rainbow Seekers (1980), which found modest success on the R&B chart. Their 1983 album Juicy Fruit, however, provided Mtume with its biggest hit, when the title song reached number one for eight weeks on the U.S. R&B chart, and was certified gold by the RIAA,[4] despite being just shy of the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 at 45.
Mtume's 1984 album You, Me, and He also proved to be a success with the title song reaching number 2 on the R&B chart.[5] Their final R&B top ten hit was "Breathless"[5] (1986) from their final album Theater of the Mind. Mtume continued recording with Epic Records until the late 1980s. Group member Tawatha Agee subsequently went solo in 1987.[2]
Other success
Concurrent with his time in Mtume, James Mtume wrote several songs for an assortment of artists, often with Mtume bandmate Reggie Lucas, such as Stephanie Mills' Top-ten single "Never Knew Love Like This Before" (for which they both received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song Writing and Producing) and the Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway hit singles "The Closer I Get to You" and "Back Together Again".[1][6]
mtume, pronounced, american, funk, soul, group, that, rose, prominence, during, early, 1980s, several, hits, during, career, founder, former, percussionist, james, previously, played, toured, with, miles, davis, early, 1970s, other, members, group, included, r. Mtume pronounced em tu may was an American funk and soul group that rose to prominence during the early 1980s and had several R amp B hits during its career Its founder former percussionist James Mtume previously played and toured with Miles Davis in the early 1970s 1 Other members of the group included Reggie Lucas Philip Field and vocalist Tawatha Agee Mtume also gained recognition after having its hit single Juicy Fruit extensively sampled by many hip hop artists most notably by the Notorious B I G in the 1994 hit song Juicy 1 MtumeOriginNew York City United StatesGenresR amp B funk jazz funk 1 post disco 1 Years active1973 1986LabelsThird Street 1973 1977 Epic 1978 1986 Past membersHubert Eaves III 1978 1980 Reggie Lucas 1978 1980 Basil Fearrington 1978 1980 Howard King 1978 1980 James Mtume 1978 1986 Tawatha Agee 1978 1986 Philip Field 1982 1986 Ed Tree Moore 1982 1986 Leslie Ming 1982 1986 Contents 1 History 2 Other success 3 Line ups 4 Discography 4 1 Studio albums 4 2 Compilation albums 4 3 Singles 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditDuring the start of the group s career they recorded three albums their first for Strata East 1972 titled Alkebu Lan The Land of the Blacks and two for the independent label Third Street Records Kawaida 1973 Alkebu Lan 2 1975 and Rebirth Cycle 3 1977 However not finding pop or R amp B chart success they signed to major label Epic Records in 1978 releasing the albums Kiss This World Goodbye 1978 and In Search of the Rainbow Seekers 1980 which found modest success on the R amp B chart Their 1983 album Juicy Fruit however provided Mtume with its biggest hit when the title song reached number one for eight weeks on the U S R amp B chart and was certified gold by the RIAA 4 despite being just shy of the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 at 45 Mtume s 1984 album You Me and He also proved to be a success with the title song reaching number 2 on the R amp B chart 5 Their final R amp B top ten hit was Breathless 5 1986 from their final album Theater of the Mind Mtume continued recording with Epic Records until the late 1980s Group member Tawatha Agee subsequently went solo in 1987 2 Other success EditConcurrent with his time in Mtume James Mtume wrote several songs for an assortment of artists often with Mtume bandmate Reggie Lucas such as Stephanie Mills Top ten single Never Knew Love Like This Before for which they both received a Grammy Award for Best R amp B Song Writing and Producing and the Roberta Flack Donny Hathaway hit singles The Closer I Get to You and Back Together Again 1 6 Following Mtume s disbandment James Mtume resumed his already prolific production and songwriting career which has included writing Freak Tonight 7 by R Kelly from the A Thin Line Between Love and Hate Soundtrack and co producing Mary J Blige s album Share My World 6 He also produced Roy Ayers and the Bar Kays and composed the music and theme tune for the 1990s television police drama New York Undercover Reggie Lucas along with Jellybean Benitez produced the majority of Madonna s first album Madonna 1 including the songs Borderline and Lucky Star Tawatha Agee later became a background singer She sang on Steely Dan s 2003 album Everything Must Go Empire of the Sun s 2013 album Ice on the Dune and Lenny Kravitz s 2014 album Strut Philip Field continued to produce and write for many artists including Gwen Guthrie Tawatha Agee Tyrone Brunson the Bar Kays Charles Earland and others He co wrote and co produced on Roy Ayers album You Might Be Surprised and co wrote How Many Ways from Toni Braxton s debut album Line ups EditThe 1978 80 line up was James Mtume vocals percussion keyboards died 2022 Hubert Eaves III keyboards Tawatha Agee vocals Reggie Lucas guitars died 2018 Basil Fearrington bass Howard King drums The 1982 86 line up was James Mtume vocals keyboards Tawatha Agee vocals Raymond Jackson bass Philip Field keyboards synthesizer synthesizer programming vocals Ed Tree Moore guitars Leslie Ming drums Discography EditStudio albums Edit Year Album Peak chart positions Certifications Record LabelUS 8 USR amp B 8 UK 9 1978 Kiss This World Goodbye Epic1980 In Search of the Rainbow Seekers 119 30 1983 Juicy Fruit 26 3 RIAA Gold 10 1984 You Me and He 77 5 851986 Theater of the Mind 135 23 denotes a recording that did not chart Compilation albums Edit Juicy 2005 Sony BMG Prime Time The Epic Anthology 2017 SoulMusic Singles Edit Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications AlbumUS 8 11 USR amp B 8 11 USDan 8 11 UK 9 1978 Just Funnin 93 Kiss This World Goodbye Funky Constellation 1980 Give It on Up If You Want To 26 30 In Search of the Rainbow Seekers So You Wanna Be a Star 60 52 1983 Juicy Fruit 45 1 30 34 RIAA Gold 10 Juicy Fruit Would You Like To Fool Around 11 1984 Green Light 66 You Me and He 83 2 You Me and He C O D I ll Deliver 20 1985 I Simply Like Prime Time 571986 Breathless 9 Theater of the Mind P O P Pursuits of Pleasure Generation 39 Body amp Soul Take Me 71 denotes a recording that did not chart References Edit a b c d e f Kellman Andy Artist Biography AllMusic Retrieved December 27 2009 a b Mtume Page Soulwalking co uk Retrieved February 3 2021 Mtume Rebirth Cycle PHILIPPE URBAN SHOP Archived from the original on January 2 2014 Retrieved January 2 2014 RIAA Gold amp Platinum Searchable Database Recording Industry Association of America Archived from Juicy Fruit the original on January 2 2014 a b Ron Wynn Mtume Awards AllMusic Archived from the original on June 25 2012 Retrieved January 10 2016 a b Biography written by Steve Kurutz of AllMusic soulinterviews com Retrieved February 3 2021 Freak Tonight R Kelly James Mtume Lyrics AllMusic Retrieved January 10 2016 a b c d e US Charts gt Mtume Billboard Retrieved May 1 2020 a b UK Charts gt Mtume Official Charts Company Retrieved May 1 2020 a b US Certifications gt Mtume Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved May 1 2020 a b c Mtume Top Songs Chart Singles Discography Music VF Retrieved February 3 2021 External links EditMtume discography at Discogs Mtume biography and discography Patriks Soul Funk Music James Mtume 2015 Interview at Soulinterviews com Mtume at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mtume amp oldid 1150563698, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
