The Voice / YouTube Chance the Rapper
New “The Voice” coach Chance the Rapper is mourning the loss of singer/songwriter Bobby Caldwell, who died on March 14, as his wife Mary Caldwell announced on his Twitter account.
Per Mary’s message, Bobby “had been ‘FLOXED,’ it took his health over the last 6 years and 2 months.” “Floxing”, according to Pitchfork, is “an ailment that stems from fluoroquinolone antibiotic use”. Fluoroquinolone is used to treat certain bacterial infections.
“God bless Bobby Caldwell. Hurts.” Chance wrote in a March 15 tweet after learning the news.
Bobby was an R&B singer best known for his single “What You Won’t Do For Love”, which was released in 1978. His last record, “Cool Uncle” was a collaboration with record producer Jack Splash which came out in 2015.
Chance the Rapper Messaged With Bobby Caldwell Prior to His Death
In addition to his tweet, Chance took to his Instagram page to grieve the loss and share the little correspondence he had with Bobby in September 2022. The image posted was a screenshot of his direct Twitter messages with Bobby, where Chance asked “Wow is this really u?” and Bobby responded, “Yes, it’s me. Thanks for thinking of me. I’ll be honored if you sample my song. All the best, Bobby”.
Chance explained in his post’s caption that he was sampling one of Bobby’s songs on his upcoming album, “Star Line Gallery”.
“This never happens. I’ve never received a message from an artist thanking me for sampling their record. This is a record that hasn’t even come out, and the legend himself reached out. I was so excited to meet you, I have not felt broken like this at a strangers passing in so long. You are a true legend and incredible person who I know I will see one day 🕊️ RIP THE GREAT BOBBY CALDWELL 💔” Chance wrote in his Instagram post’s caption.
Chance the Rapper Teased His New Album on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’
Chance appeared on fellow “Voice” coach Kelly Clarkson’s daytime talk show on March 13 (her “50 Years of Hip-Hop” episode), where the two touched on the Blind Auditions of “The Voice” season 23 as well as Chance’s next album.
Chance told Clarkson that she stole quite a few of his favorite singers for her team during the Blind Auditions, saying, “You got everybody that I wanted, there was a bunch of times where we turned… [and the singers] would give a whole speech about how they love me, and ‘Oh “Coloring Book”, but Kelly Clarkson’ and then they’d go to you.”
At the end of the interview, Clarkson asked if Chance was coming out with anything soon, and he replied, “Yeah my new album is called ‘Star Line Gallery’, it’s a collaboration with a lot of different folks from around the world, telling our stories in a new kind of way, and I’m actually performing my new single ‘YAH Know’ on [‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’]”.
“YAH Know” came out in November 2022, and Chance actually performed it on the March 6 episode of “The Tonight Show” prior to his “Kelly Clarkson Show” episode airing.
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