Remembering Gerald Levert

Business…here’s a piece that ran yesterday on why the world might owe Mario Williams an apology.
Gerald Levert died on Friday.  I can’t say it was shocking, but it was definitely saddening.  40’s too young for dying, even though I’ve seen enough to know that no one’s too young to die.  Thin line there, but I think you know what I mean.  Here’s wishing the best to his family in this time of need.
I didn’t know Gerald, so I can say but so much about him personally.  I do know his music, his style of music and how that ties into history.  And I think it’s entirely possible that an era of black music may have ended with his passing.
Though he was raised in Cleveland, Levert may have been the last of the gritty, shoutin’ male Southern soul singers in the mainstream.  I’m not connecting him with every Southern singer.  Anthony Hamilton’s my favorite singer in the game right now, but I associate him with the Al Green model of Southern soul.  I associate Levert with the Otis Redding/Wilson Pickett lineage–where the message was driven home with raw power and emotion.  No finesse, Jack.
Part of the reason so many people connected to Levert’s songs is that he drove them home with something we all can understand.  Sometimes, there’s no explanation or justification for what you’ve done.  There’s no really smooth way to get your point across.  Sometimes, all you can do is look people in the eye and hope they feel and understand just how much you love them and pray that, in this case, that’s enough.  You can only hope with everything in you that how much you love them is enough to make them ignore just what a triflin’ muthafucka you really are, what a triflin’ thing you did, or anything else.
And sometimes, that’s all you need to hear from someone to make it all better.
I honestly can’t think of anyone to come out anytime recently that sold his music like that.  K-Ci Hailey had the potential to become legendary by doing that, but it ai’nt so much lookin’ like he’s gonna pick that mantle up.  I may be wrong, but I just ain’t seeing it.
The person who vocally reminds me the most of Levert is Lyfe Jennings, but he just ain’t powerful enough for me to see him as being in this lineage.
(BTW, I’m sure someone’s going to talk about some of Lyfe’s subject matter–spinnin’ 20s in particular–and say that means he can’t be seen the way a guy like Levert was seen.  I would like to remind those people that Levert a song that included the line, “why’d you have to take my Benz?  Both of them?” and in the video, women shook car keys at that part.)
But there is one lady left that’s still doin’ this style to death–Mary J. Blige.