Source: David Corio / Getty James “Mtume” Forman left an undeniable mark on music. Mtume’s career includes a Grammy-award for writing the Stephanie Mills classic “Never Knew Love Like This Before” Roberta Flack’s “The Closer I Get to You” and worked with a who’s who in R&B including Miles Davis, Phyllis Hyman, Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Mary J. Blige and more. He found success of his own with the band named “Mtume” after his given name, meaning “messenger” in Swahili. He was given the name after joining Hakim Jamal and Maulana Karenga’s US Organization, a Black empowerment group. The group would go on to record the classics “Juicy Fruit” and “You, Me & She.” What Mtume didn’t know at the time was the lasting legacy his music would leave in the world of Hip-Hop. ALSO READ: James Mtume Reveals ‘Juicy Fruit’ Almost Wasn’t Released The Notorious B.I.G. sampled “Juicy Fruit” and created the song that made him a star “Juicy.” off of his debut album “Ready To Die.” Keyshia Cole would use the same song and create one of her biggest hits “Let It Go” featuring Missy Elliott & Lil’ Kim. Others including Jay-Z, Cam’ron, and more have rapped over music sampled by Mtume. Below are the songs and the tracks birthed from the music of James “Mtume” Forman. Hip-Hop Tracks Sampled From The Songs Of Mtume [Listen] was originally published on blackamericaweb.com