| This has been a difficult week as three well known, well loved individuals have passed away suddenly. The sudden death of Big Pun this past Monday, has the Hip Hop community still reeling. The Ortiz Funeral Home which is located in the Bronx has opened its doors for public viewing for both Thursday [Feb 10th] and Friday [Feb 11th]. A private funeral is scheduled for later this weekend. While the Hip Hop world is grieving, the sports world is trying to deal with the sudden passing of 9 time, All-pro Kansas City Chief's linebacker Derrick Thomas. He passed away from a heart attack Tuesday at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Thomas was recovering from injuries he received from a car crash on January 23 which left him paralyzed. He was on his way to a Kansas City airport when his car flipped over on icy roads.One of Thomas's passengers was killed in that crash. Within the radio world, folks are still mourning the sudden death of radio personality Bob Collins of Chicago's WGN-AM 720. Here he reigned king in the windy city, as he out ranked his closest competitor by a 2-1 margin. Collins died Tuesday afternoon when a small stunt plane he was flying collided in mid air with another small craft. There is no doubt that in addition to family, friends and loved ones, the legions of fans who admired these individuals will feel the loss of these giants within their respective fields. Today we are sad to report the untimely passing of another giant. 45 year old George Jackson passed away today [Feb 10 Thursday afternoon] due to complications of a massive stroke he had suffered last week. Jackson was well known and loved within the Hip Hop/Urban music and movie world. He was the man behind flicks 'Crush Groove', which starred, LL Cool J, Run DMC and Full Force to name few. It was one of the first movies to come out that starred Hip Hop/urban music artists. Years later Jackson later followed that formula when he and partner Doug McHenry released the movie 'New Jack City' which starred Ice T, Chris Rock and Wesley Snipes. Later he broke ground with the movie 'Jason's Lyrics' which featured Treach from Naughty By Nature and Jada Pinkett. He was also the man behind the Martin Lawrence film 'A Thin Line Between Love and Hate' which also starred Bobby Brown. Jackson went on to parlay his on screen success by taking over the helm of Motown Records. His challenge was to clean up some of the economic and imaging damage left behind by his predecessor Andre Harrell. Jackson's latest project was ambitious. He was the co-founder of UBO, the Urban Box Office network which was supposed to be the ultimate online urban lifestyle portal. Over the past few months he had aggressively pushed to make this happen. His sudden stroke and subsequent death will surely have him be missed by many. |