(AllHipHop News) Earlier today (May 28th), world renowned poet Dr. Maya Angelou died and the news
The last musical collaboration the late Maya Angelou worked on was for Common’s The Dreamer/The Believer on the song “The Dreamer”. Even though Angelou was “surprised” by Common’s use of the N-word on the song she was featured, she considered him “brilliant” and Common in turn reminisced about his former collaborator on the day of her death:
I was thinking about her lately. GOD Bless the Soul of one if my heroes. Dr Maya Angelou
— COMMON (@common) May 28, 2014
Best selling author, Terry McMillian expressed her extreme gratitude for Maya Angelou:
We were fortunate to have Maya Angelou embrace our sense of self and humanity when many of us were losing or had lost faith.#RIPMayaAngelou — Terry McMillan (@MsTerryMcMillan) May 28, 2014
Both Rihanna and Beyonce were not born when Maya Angelou’s debut autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings in 1969. However the two R&B singers shared their favorite pieces from Maya Angelou:
Back in February 20111, President Obama award Maya Angelou the Medal of Freedom award and revealed that his half-sister Maya Kassandra Soetoro-Ng was named after the late poet. Hours after news of Maya Angelou’s death, Obama issued an official statement regarding her death:
When her friend Nelson Mandela passed away last year, Maya Angelou wrote that “No sun outlasts its sunset, but will rise again, and bring the dawn.”
Today, Michelle and I join millions around the world in remembering one of the brightest lights of our time – a brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman. Over the course of her remarkable life, Maya was many things – an author, poet, civil rights activist, playwright, actress, director, composer, singer and dancer. But above all, she was a storyteller – and her greatest stories were true. A childhood of suffering and abuse actually drove her to stop speaking – but the voice she found helped generations of Americans find their rainbow amidst the clouds, and inspired the rest of us to be our best selves. In fact, she inspired my own mother to name my sister Maya.
Like so many others, Michelle and I will always cherish the time we were privileged to spend with Maya. With a kind word and a strong embrace, she had the ability to remind us that we are all God’s children; that we all have something to offer. And while Maya’s day may be done, we take comfort in knowing that her song will continue, “flung up to heaven” – and we celebrate the dawn that Maya Angelou helped bring.
Check out Smoke DZA, John Legend and others react to Maya Angelou’s passing below:
RIP to Maya Angelou. One of the most important poets of our time. Forever inspired by her words
— Smoke DZA (@smokedza) May 28, 2014
RIP Maya Angelou. What a beautiful soul.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) May 28, 2014