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Mtume (pronounced em-tu-may) was a funk and soul group that had several R&B hits in the 1980s. Its founder, percussionist James Mtume, previously played with Miles Davis in the 1970s. Other members of the group included Reggie Lucas and Tawatha Agee.

Mtume recorded three albums on the independent label Third Street Records: Kawaida (1973); Alkebu-Lan (1975); and Rebirth Cycle (1977). Not finding pop or R&B chart success, they signed to major label Epic Records in 1978, releasing the albums Kiss This World Goodbye (1978), and In Search of the Rainbow Seekers (1980), which found modest success on the R&B chart. Their 1982 album Juicy Fruit, however, provided Mtume with its biggest hit, when the title song reached number one for eight weeks on the U.S. R&B chart.

Mtume's 1984 album You, Me, and He had a #2 R&B hit with the album's title song. Their final R&B Top Ten hit was "Breathless" (1986) from their final album Theater of the Mind. They recorded with Epic Records until the late 1980s. Group member Agee went solo in 1987.

"Juicy Fruit" would later be sampled for the Notorious B.I.G song "Juicy", featured on his 1994 album Ready to Die, as well as the 2004 "Be Your Girl" remix by Teedra Moses and Raphael Saadiq. In 2007 it was sampled for Keyshia Cole's single "Let It Go", which also topped the US R&B chart.

Ingepakt zijn:

1973 - Kawaida
1975 - Alkebu-Lan
1977 - Rebirth Cycle
1978 - Kiss This World Goodbye
1980 - In Search Of The Rainbow Seekers
1983 - Juicy Fruit
1984 - You, Me And He
1986 - Theater of the Mind