R.I.P. Lyn Collins

Death of R&B Singer a Loss for Hip-Hop
By RAQUEL CEPEDA, For The Associated Press

Hip-hop lost a matron in Lyn Collins. The R&B singer, who died Sunday at 56, first made her mark on the rap world in 1987 when her song "Think (About It)" was sampled on the smash hit "It Takes Two," by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock.

Other artists who have rapped Collins' soulful voice include Nas, Schoolly D, Public Enemy and most recently Ludacris.

"People sampled her because the era her music came from is a time in which it was quite a regular thing to, well, give the drummer some," Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, the drummer for The Roots, said Tuesday via e-mail.

"Without her work, Nas would have had a different musical backdrop," Thompson said. "Collins' 'Land of Milk and Honey' was the track for his infamous 'hell for snuffing Jesus' outing on Main Source's 'Live at the Barbecue.'"

Collins took up singing as a teenager. At 14, she married a man who worked as the local promoter for the James Brown Revue. Brown heard Collins sing and in 1970 she was invited to join his traveling show. Her powerful voice led Brown to nickname her the "Female Preacher," because listening to her sing was a near-religious experience.

Two years after joining Brown, she cut "Think (About It)."

"Having graduated from the school of 'Brown Soulversity,'" Thompson said, "Ms. Collins was a very arresting artist and had a commanding stage presence."

"Plus, she was dope son!"

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Soul Singer Lyn Collins Passes On;
Sampled By Ludacris And Rob Base
By Remmie Fresh (allhiphop.com)

Hip-Hop heads may not be familiar with Lyn Collins by name, but they know her work as her voice anchored the 80’s runaway hit “It Takes Two.”

Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock sampled Collin’s commanding voice on the 1988 song and it alone catapulted them into legend status.

Sadly, Collins died on Sunday from heart complications related to cardiac arrhythmia. She was only 56. The Abilene, Texas native died near Los Angeles in Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena.

Before Hip-Hop was the rage, Collins’ legend was already established in the 70’s. As a teen member of the James Brown review, her authoritative presence earned her the name the “Female Preacher.” After two years with The Godfather of Soul, she released her solo debut, Think (About It). Later, in 1975, she put out Check Me Out If You Don't Know Me By Now.

More recently, Collins had embarked on a tour of Europe and had intended to continue next month.

She is survived by her two sons and their four children.

Public Enemy and Ludacris have also sampled Collins work.

For more information on Lyn Collins, click here.