Legendary R&B/Soul Singer Teena Marie Dies At 54

    R&B/Soul singer Teena Marie passed away yesterday (December 26) at the age of 54.

    The announcement came from Mike Gardener, the singer’s manager.

    The singer, who grew up in Oakland, California, is notable for being one of the few white performers who found mainstream success in R&B. She signed with Motown Records in 1976, after which point Rick James became her mentor. In 1983, she signed to Epic/CBS records, where she recorded until 1990. After a 14-year sabbatical, Marie signed to Cash Money Records’ Classics imprint, where she recorded La Doña, the highest-charting album of her career. She was signed to Stax/Concord Records from 2009.

    “R.I.P. [Teena] Marie,” Tweeted Bryan “Birdman” Williams in response to her death. The singer has been sampled by Hip Hop acts such as The Fugees, Jadakiss and many others.

    No cause of death has been released as of press time. There are reports that she suffered a seizure last month is Los Angeles.

    HipHopDX extends our condolences to the family and friends of Tenna Marie.

    58 thoughts on “Legendary R&B/Soul Singer Teena Marie Dies At 54

      1. seriously? i hate it when they try and bring back dead brands. even though i used to love sonic as a kid, it would be a bit corny going back to it now. do the kids today still love sonic or is it something new?

    1. R.I.P Teena Marie, what a young age to go…

      An incredibly talented and versatile R&B singer. We will never forget you.

    2. Damn, we lost too many greats in the past couple years. Michael, Luther, Teddy, Rick, and now Teena.

      R.I.P. Teena Marie. There will never be another like her.

    3. R.I.P. YOUR MUSIC WILL LIVE ON FOREVER!!! …It’s Just So FUCKED UP THAT EVERY YEAR BEFORE THE NEW YEAR, WE LOSE ONE OF THE GREATS.

    4. Teena Marie was a black woman trapped in a white woman’s body. To be honest, she made folks color blind when it came to her soulful music. Another legend has fallen but even though she gone, she will never be forgotten. A angel to all of us music fans and much more to friends and family. She will truly be missed. R.I.P.

      1. true all of above…but the question remains, besides the titties, would you give it to that?

        aint no doubt based on that pic homie

      1. u must be young disrespectful bastards i hope u dont have kids u stupid bitch i hope ur ass choke on a dick faggot

    5. you are all some sick fucks the woman has just died, and u dirty rotten fucks have the nerve to write sick shit about her cos shes not a black woman, if she was aretha franklin you wouldnt be writing that shit, just cos she white , ur gonna write some disgusting shit like that u dirty cunts

      1. I agree with Erik, that just shows you where their brains are. Even sickos will face death because it doesn’t discriminate. Leave the lady alone and let her rest in peace. R.I.P. Lady T.

    6. I wouldn’t expect anyone in this forum to have any class or sensibility, after all, it is a Hip-Hop site, and Hip-Hop these days is a cesspool of young losers and idiots. With that said, R.I.P. Teena Marie, one of the greatest R&B singers and song writers of all time. 1.

      1. Wah. Wah. Wah.

        Stop posting messages on this board if you hate hip-hop so much.

        With that said, RIP Lady T. You will be missed!!!!

    7. …and yall wonder why people are racist. THIS is the problem with hiphop. too many losers who will never amount to anything so they just act retarded and disrespectful.. it gives the game a bad name.

      RIP – she was one hell of an artist

    8. RIP Teena Marie, your voice was a gift.
      -@RIP Teena, Fire & Desire was my shit.
      -SMH@ those disrespectful hatin-ass faggots
      harpin on her race, she still did her thing, real spit. Uneducated bastards, go play Human Centipede somewhere, And as for mark666, who obviously is butthurt cause someone stole his chick (if he had one), eat a dick….with Congo AIDS on it.

    9. No comment on the disrespectful comments…It was a blessing to watch you perform in person. Rest In Peace Teena Marie…You will be missed.

    10. damn, RIP tina marie. her ands rick james were doing fire and desire live where classic.

      also got to give her probs because she was one of the few R&B acts period, not just white, to carve out a niche in the 80’s that time between funk and new jack swing was a slower time for the genre

    11. R.I.P. Lady T. I remember my first and only time seeing Teena perform was at a free concert in NYC hosted by J & R Music World. The performance was dynamic. She signed my CD and now more than ever I will have a reason to treasure it. We will truly miss you! Prayers and words of encouragement to her daughter (who was by her mothers side at that concert) and her family.

    12. Teena did NOT grow up in Oakland……….she grew up and lived most of her life in Venice, CA and the grater Los Angeles area………please get the facts straight

      1. how would you like it if somebody said fuck you and those kids in the pic with you? how would you feel? cuz you damn sure dont deserve them if you’re gonna raise them to be racist assholes like your dumb ass is. they’re probably not even yours and if they are, you probably don’t do anything for them anyway. you look like a broke ass. ugly mutha fucka. aint nothin worse than sorry bitches like you tryin to make this world even worse. didnt hitler and george bush do enough? and in case you’re wondering, YES IDIOTIC DIPSHIT, I AM BLACK! AND PROUD TO BE! cuz TRUE black people dont act like YOU! true black people SEE NO COLOR! remember Dr. Martin Luther King, ASSHOLE!?

      2. and she was better than aretha franklins ignorant arrogant diva-ish fat ass … queen of soul, YEAH RIGHT! who the hell gets mad for someone callin someone else a queen? cuz thats what she did to Beyonce’ …. she DAMN sure didn’t represent a queen of soul or anything else… and she NEVER WILL! you need to llok into your history and learn some things and see who really opened doors for us before you go talkin shit you stupid ass bald mutha fucka. hopefully those kids in that picture with you grow up hating your dumb ass once they find out what kind of real idiot you truly are and they’re smarter than you and stay the hell away from you…. you dumb as shit.

      1. it’s people like u are so dam stupid to say something like that so that someone in her family may see it. you need a ass whipping your dam self and you got to be a coward because only a coward would say something like that

    13. I met Tina Marie @ her concert back in the 70s & she & Rick James were perfect together! After the concert, I was invited backstage to meet Tina & socialize…and I did!!! She is a wonderful passionate personality, with a heart that’s sweet and loving. rip Tina, and thanks for making my young concert going years wonderfully memorable!!!!!

    14. i am a person that really dont say much but tina marie was a very talented star her memories will forever be apart of all our lives

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