Larry Smith passed away on the night of Thursday 18 December 2014, seven years after suffering a stroke that left him incapacitated. His son, Larry Smith Jnr. apparently read Larry the article I wrote about him for Cuepoint in October and he is said to have enjoyed it, so at least he knew that there were a lot of people who still appreciated his contributions before he left us.
While his the tributes are flowing on Twitter, there seems to be no mention of the fact that Larry was a ward of the state since his stroke, receiving the minimal attention from the staff for the final years of his life. Where were all these hot shot celebrity friends of Larry when he really needed their support and financial assistance? People such as Talib Haqq, Akili Walker and Spyder-D took the time to visit Mr. Smith in his time of need. I wonder when was the last time that Russell Simmons or Reverend Run took the time out to check up on the guy who helped to get them where they are today?
Russell Simmons actually sold-off Larry Smith’s half of the publishing from their Rush-Groove company to fund the deposit that Columbia Records required to give Def Jam their distribution deal, effectively selling him up the river so he could hand Rick Rubin the keys to the rock/rap blueprint. I can’t help but feel like the hip-hop world let Larry down when he needed them most.
I cant remember the last time i purchased anything having to do with Russell but rest assured he def wont be getting a dime out of me for good now..same with supporting Run DMC..shit is fucked..industry rule #4080
They need to be put on blast and boycotted for this type of shit..RIP Larry
RIP Larry, an underrated and overlooked pioneer of this thing we all enjoy to this day. The real heads know who to salute and who to give the finger to.
Same as it ever was. The music industry is full of heartless shithouses with no idea of loyalty or real friendship but through his talent, his vital contributions to Hip Hop culture & his fucking dope music, Larry will live on. R.I.P.
Thanks for posting this, Robbie. Always thought Russell was a piece of predatory shit– and he’s not the black executive to emulate the scumbag ethics of his corporate overseers– and this re-confirms it. Russell been free for how long now and does what for anyone?
RIP Larry Smith.. for what it’s worth, Run DMC and LL Cool J did acknowledge the passing last night at the concert in Brooklyn..
As a Hip-Hop head,I’m embarrassed to admit that it took Robbie’s piece to really open my eyes to the contributions of this man. I grew up to dude’s music and saw his name on different joints but dude’s name never rang out to me, even after I started understanding the production side of the game. Robbie, thank you for writng that piece to educate those who never knew and those who should have known way sooner (such as myself) about Larry Smith. Rest In Paradise…
“Russell Simmons actually sold-off Larry Smith’s half of the publishing from their Rush-Groove company to fund the deposit that Columbia Records required to give Def Jam their distribution deal, effectively selling him up the river so he could hand Rick Rubin the keys to the rock/rap blueprint.”
Hell of a deposit in the bank of shitty karma…
RIP :( but isn’t that a pic of Kurtis Blow with Run DMC, not Larry?
Robbie……….. How bout a tribute mixtape of the dude.
^^^Good idea…
Blues iz like Jazz iz like HipHop iz …. RIP Larry Smith and every other artist out here like sitting ducks for Vultures waiting in the wings Past/Present/Future.
yeah, also puzzled by the kurtis blow picture.
reading the linked article now
PAUSE on his hands being so close to JMJ’s “belt buckle” though
I didn’t want to use the same pics from the Cuepoint piece again so I threw inthe Kurtis and Run-DMC photo since he worked with both. I’ve just updated it courtesy of his son.
R.I.P Larry Smith you will live forever through your music, and thank you!!!
Salute!!!