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Jellybean Johnson, Minneapolis Sound Pioneer and Prince Associate, Dies.
The Minneapolis Sound, that impossibly funky, synth-laced revolution that forever altered the landscape of pop and R&B, has lost one of its foundational architects. Jellybean Johnson, the powerhouse multi-instrumentalist whose thunderous, precise drumming for the Time provided the rhythmic backbone for an entire era and whose production work shaped the careers of icons from Janet Jackson to New Edition, has passed away.His death isn't just the loss of a musician; it's the silencing of a vital heartbeat from a scene that was, for a glorious moment, the epicenter of cool. To understand Jellybean is to understand the very ecosystem Prince built around him at the dawn of the '80s—a collective of fiercely talented, competitive artists known as the Minneapolis Mafia.The Time wasn't merely a backing band; they were a supergroup in their own right, a sharply dressed, hilariously arrogant foil to Prince's purple majesty, and Johnson, alongside Morris Day, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis, was core to that combustible chemistry. His work on the kit for classics like 'Jungle Love' and 'The Bird' wasn't just keeping time; it was a statement.It was crisp, it was funky, it had swagger, and it perfectly encapsulated the band's theatrical, street-smart persona. When Jam and Lewis were famously fired from the Time for missing a gig due to a snowstorm while producing the S.O. S.Band, it was Jellybean who held the fort, his versatility ensuring the machine kept running even as its parts were scattering to change the world. And what a world they changed.While Jam and Lewis went on to define the sound of '80s pop with Janet Jackson's *Control*, Johnson's own production prowess flourished. His touch can be felt on the sleek, New Jack Swing-influenced tracks for New Edition, helping to guide the boy band into a more mature, harder-hitting phase.He was a musician's musician, a producer who understood groove from the ground up, because he was the one who often created it. The legacy of Jellybean Johnson is woven into the very fabric of pop music's DNA.He was a key player in a regional scene that went global, a testament to the raw, collaborative energy Prince fostered in that cold Minnesota city. In an age of digital perfection, his playing reminds us of the irreplaceable power of human feel, of a pocket so deep you could fall into it. The stage lights for the Minneapolis Sound have dimmed considerably over the years, but the rhythm Jellybean Johnson laid down—a rhythm of innovation, competition, and pure, unadulterated funk—will keep echoing, a timeless beat in the history of American music.
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#Jellybean Johnson
#The Time
#Minneapolis Sound
#Prince
#drummer
#Janet Jackson
#New Edition
#music pioneer
