Throwback: Happy Belated 53rd Birthday, Fredro Starr!

April is a busy and auspicious month in music history:

• The 75th anniversary of the birth of the legendary Gil Scott-Heron was on April 1
• The 85th anniversary of the birth of R&B and soul legend Marvin Gaye was on April 2
• The 111th anniversary of the birth of legendary bluesman Muddy Waters was on April 4 
• Pharrell Williams celebrated his 51st birthday on April 5
• One of the most beloved figures of the Outlaw Country movement, 
• Merle Haggard was born 84 years ago on April 6
• Robert Glasper celebrated his 46th birthday on April 6
• The 109th anniversary of Billie Holiday‘s birth was on April 7
• John Oates, of Daryl Hall and John Oates fame celebrated his 75th birthday on April 7 
• The 60th anniversary of Biz Markie‘s birth was on April 7
• The 77th anniversary of Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider‘s birth was on April 7
• A Tribe Called Quest‘s Q-Tip one of hip-hop’s greatest emcees and producers celebrated his 54th birthday on April 10
• The legendary and pioneering Herbie Hancock celebrated his 84th birthday on March 12
• Echo & The Bunnymen‘s Will Sergeant celebrated his 66th on April 12 
• R&B and soul legend Al Green celebrated his 78th birthday on April 13
• Radiohead‘s Ed O’Brien celebrated his 56th birthday on April 15
• Midnight Oil‘s frontman Peter Garrett celebrated his 71st birthday on April 16
• Liz Phair celebrated her 57th birthday on April 17
• Redman celebrated his 54th birthday on April 17
• The 73rd anniversary of Luther Vandross‘ birth was on April 20
• The legendary Iggy Pop celebrates his 77th birthday, today
• The Cure‘s founding member frontman, guitarist and principle songwriter Robert Smith celebrates his 65th birthday today

Onyx’s Fredro Starr celebrated his 53rd birthday on April 18. As a teenager, Onyx’s debut, BACDAFUCUP was huge: I remember having a crush on a girl, who had a copy of it on cassette tape. You can still play “Slam” and have people lose their goddamn minds. (I saw them play at SummerStage about a decade ago, and as soon as they played “Slam,” people lost their goddamn minds.)

Happy belated birthday, brother! May there be many, many more!