2025 is a very special year. First of all, I turned 50 on March 29! So, there’s that. But also, it’s a year that some pretty important music turns 40. Specifically, Prince‘s Around the World in a Day, Sheila E.’s Romance 1600, and The Family‘s self-titled debut all hit the big 4-0 this year. In celebration of the occasion, my brilliant friend, music curator, and scholar De Angela Duff produced another one of her incredible virtual symposia, #PopLife40, in April…when sometimes it snows. As is always the case with De Angela’s events, the symposium attracted some of the dopest souls from across the globe to share their insights about the impact these albums made when originally released and the influence they continue to have. I was fortunate to be part of the final panel of the weekend all about The Family, the R&B/funk band made up of St. Paul Peterson (formerly of The Time), Susannah Melvoin (longtime Prince collaborator and twin sister to Revolution guitarist Wendy), sax man Eric Leeds, and Jerome Benton and Jellybean Johnson (also formerly of The Time).

My presentation, “Echoing Like a Volcano: The Fantastic Love Story that is ‘The Screams of Passion,'” explored The Family’s first (and only) single.

UPDATE: The videos from the symposium are live! Watch them all here, and check out my presentation below.

De Angela’s working on getting the videos from the symposium uploaded to YouTube, so once they’re live I’ll share. Stay tuned! In the meantime, here’s a clip of me and my music partner-in-crime Montrose Cunningham performing ‘The Screams of Passion” at our friend Ant Boogie‘s (Anthony Frazier) annual Like Minded Individuals tribute in Houston in 2017.

And check out the symposium’s opening keynotes featuring The Family and sax player, songwriter, and producer Eddie M.