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Bob Power, Defining Engineer of ’90s Hip-Hop and Neo‑Soul, Dies

NYU’s Clive Davis Institute confirmed his death, prompting tributes to a mentor whose mixes shaped cornerstone albums.

Overview

  • NYU’s Clive Davis Institute confirmed his passing, with a funeral listing citing March 1 as the date of death and no cause disclosed.
  • DJ Premier first shared the news on X, and tributes followed from Questlove, Erykah Badu, and engineer Young Guru.
  • Power engineered seminal releases including A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar, and Erykah Badu’s Baduizm, as well as key projects by De La Soul and the Roots.
  • He pioneered a mixing approach that married complex, sample-based arrangements with deep, clear bass and crisp drums, shaping the era’s sonic blueprint.
  • A longtime Arts Professor at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute and a two-time Grammy nominee, his age is reported variably as 73 or 74.