I remember his death as if it happened yesterday. I was leaving the movies with my mother in Langley Park, MD on a very rainy Sunday. When we got in the car, Melvin Lindsey (Lindsey is credited for originating the "Quiet Storm" late-night music programming format) announced, “I wish it was an April Fool’s joke, but I am sad to announce that Marvin Gaye was killed today.”

His work definitely inspired me to address social issues in my music. I’ve had an opportunity to meet cats that knew and worked with him. While I am often compared to Marvin because of my use of music for the purpose of making love songs in addition to providing social commentary, Marvin was an icon. I would never intentionally try to fill the void that he left. I consider the comparison to be a compliment, but there can only be one Marvin Gaye.

Jive Records recording artist Raheem Devaughn is a native of Washington, D.C. He is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on Love Behind The Melody, the follow up to his debut album entitled The Love Experience.

www.theloveexperience.com

As a girl growing up during the turbulent 70's, I was slightly afraid of Marvin Gaye; his music bought tears to the eyes of every lady I knew. Women of substance turned to Marvin's music while longing for absentee lovers, husbands, fathers and sons. These were men who by choice, circumstance or law were not there to love them. Marvin's naked raw emotion was frightening to a kid like me raised in an atmosphere of controlled feelings and detachment. Marvin as a conscious artist scared me because it seemed as if he couldn't handle the pain.

The generation that gave birth to Hip Hop knew the same pain of which Marvin sang.

But we were hopeful, we believed. Not sure what we believed in, we knew that a beat would save a nation.

Music Industry Executive/Hip-Hop Philosopher

As a young girl working for Columbia Records, Karen Durant eventually had the opportunity to meet Marvin Gaye during a triumphant time in his career propelled by his hit record "Sexual Healing.”

www.myspace.com/sleepercellproductions

Marvin was a self-contained artist whose recording process was very private. He also loved football and had secret ambitions of becoming a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions. One of his close friends, “Lem” Barney, was a cornerback for the Lions and sang background vocals on “What’s Going On.” Most of our discussions were about label politics or something as simple as cracking jokes. Most people don’t know that one of his biggest hits, “Got To Give It Up”, was actually a throw away track that sat for a long time and almost didn’t see the light of day.

Paul Riser is a famed arranger whose discography includes works by Luther Vandross, R.Kelly, Diana Ross, Lauryn Hill and The Four Tops as well as Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, “You’re All I Need To Get By” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

Paulriser911@yahoo.com

I became a single father by the time I was 17. In 97’ during a vicious custody battle with my son's mother, my boy Jalil gave me a copy of Marvin Gaye’s Here, My Dear.

Prior to then, I was only familiar with most of Marvin’s ballads. My friend told me "listen to this - it'll help you shoulder some of the bulls#@$%." It immediately captured me. The liner notes illustrate an emotional tale. The album paralleled my situation in ways that, as Jalil said, would " help me shoulder the bulls#@$%."

My son is grown now, and our relationship is stronger than ever. I still keep HMD in heavy ro', but now it's to celebrate Marvin Gaye. Not just as a musical genius, but as another brother "just tryin' to shoulder the bulls#@$%."”

Vincent Lopes is a teacher at Feinstein High School in Providence, RI, a father of two boys, and a Hip-Hop zealot.