Colonel Abrams, a pioneer and chart-topper of house and dance music in the 1980s, died Friday at the age of 67.
The musician scored his biggest hits with the club singles “Trapped” and “I’m Not Gonna Let You,” which both hit number 1.
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After it was revealed that Abrams was homeless last year, New York City’s premier soul music radio station, WBLS launched a fundraising campaign to help him obtain vital diabetes medication.
DJ Tony “Tune” Herbert, who performed at the fundraiser, confirmed Abrams’ death in a somber Facebook post on Saturday evening.
“Now he is at peace,” the post reads. “Our condolences go out to his family and fans world wide. He is no longer suffering or ‘Trapped.'”
Abrams was born in Detroit and moved to New York City at age 10. He credited the move to the city with being influential in helping him develop his sound.
“I studied all the people on Motown,” he told the Associated Press in the 1980s. “But after my family moved to New York, I studied street music, and I sort of combined them both: The Detroit sound and the street sounds of New York.”
Abrahams cause of death has not yet been revealed. May he rest in peace.