Musical and cultural icon Isaac Hayes passed away in his Memphis, Tennessee home yesterday from what is believed to have been complications from a stroke he suffered in 2006. He was 65.
Hayes was best known for producing the score for the movie "Shaft"(1971), which earned him two Grammys and an Academy award. His musical career spans almost five decades and his acting career goes all the way back to 1974, where he starred as Truck Turner in a movie with the same title.
Isaac Hayes' music has been celebrated by generations of music fans and entertainers alike, most notably in Hip Hop where artists and producers from Slick RIck to Jay-Z have sampled his unparalleled sound.
DJ Red Alert, a Hip Hop pioneer who had an opportunity to work with Mr. Hayes at NYC's 98.7 Kiss FM in 2000 had this to say to HHNLive.com about the legacy of this musical legend:
"..Isaac was in the forefront along with many other entertainers and a lot of Black activists that was concerned about the struggle of the Black movement. Isaac took it upon himself with his music to change the face of what was going on right after Martin Luther King and even before that, you know? His clothing..it was a symbol for what he was trying to represent for Black culture through his music and through his presentation...His music stands out. A lot of people from generation to generation grew up on his music..all the way from my parents to within the youth of today. It's a great loss and it was a great shock because we know we just lost another brother right before him, Bernie Mac, and nobody expected to hear that about "Black Moses" at all. He was..so unique."
Coincidently, Mr. Hayes was in the midst of filming a movie called "Soul Men" with Bernie Mac before their untimely deaths.