Happy Birthday - Kashif • Grown Folks Music

The last few years seriously have been some of the worst years in recent memories when it comes to the news of some many great (not only artists) but human beings beyond their art leaving this earthly realm.
In the fall of 2016 the passing of the legendary singer, songwriter, producer, educator and humanitarian Kashif has definitely cast a somber mood over GFM HQ. For you see Kashif really and truly was a friend to GFM.

In early 2014 I received a call from our resident sensei here at GFM inquiring about my availability to potentially get on a video chat with none other than Kashif. I of course inquired if this was some sort of prank, because I reminded him that Kashif had produced a song that I believed was a perfect blend of R&B and Pop and it was my go to on how to construct a three minute masterpiece. That song is “You Give Good Love” the debut of none other than Whitney Houston. I was assured that this was no joke, but serious business.

Have you ever had that moment in life when you meet or even just talk to someone and you feel like you’ve known them all along? That’s what it was like for me and all of us here who came in contact with Kashif. We were tasked with helping to re-introduce Kashif to the cyber crowd in preparation for the unveiling of his labor of love the 10 episode documentary series The History of R&B Music. Massive in scope, highly detailed and insightful this was a project in my opinion had the right personal at the helm. Kashif personified a bridge builder and I cherish the numerous conversations that we had and counted it an honor when he would consult me for my opinion.

What I want to/need to do at this moment as we process this loss is to leave you with a clip of one of the promos we worked on together in 2014. This spirit, this passion for music and humanity touched so many around the world and it is my hope and desire that Kashif’s dream of sharing this documentary series will come to fruition as he had hoped.

Ivan Orr

Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.

www.grownfolksmusic.com