Saddness and shock rippled through the music community today as news hit that GRAMMY-winning songwriter and producer LaShawn Daniels died in a car accident in South Carolina. He was 41 years old.
Daniels wrote and produced for some of music's biggest names, including Michael Jackson, Usher, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, and Whitney Houston.
<iframe width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sQgd6MccwZc" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Known by many as Big Shiz, Daniels had a hand in some of the biggest hits of his generation, including Brandy and Monica's “The Boy Is Mine,” Jackson's "You Rock My World" and Destiny's Child's “Say My Name,” which earned Daniels the GRAMMY for Best R&B Song at the 43rd GRAMMY Awards in 2000.
GRAMMY winner Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, a friend and frequent collaborator of Daniels, told the Recording Academy that he will not be forgotten. "Lashawn Daniels aka Big Shiz will not only be remembered for his amazing contribution to the music industry but he will be remembered for always being a light in the room," he said. "His smile, his laugh, his charisma was contagious and he will never be forgotten. My condolences to his entire family."
Earlier this year, the Recording Academy interviewed Daniels about the "Say My Name," one of the many hits he worked on with Jerkins, as it celebrated its 20th anniversary. "You look up 20 years later, and it's like, 'Wow, I was a part of history, and didn't even know it,'" Daniels told us. "We knew we had an opportunity to be in the studio to be with Destiny's Child, and it wasn't taken lightly. We stayed up days thinking and trying to put it together. We did everything we possibly could to make sure we were successful, and lo and behold, 20 years later, I'm doing an interview about a song that we did. I think the mission was accomplished."
Read More: "Say My Name" 20 Years Later: Why The Destiny's Child Staple Is Still On Everyone's Lips
Daniels was nominated eight times for GRAMMY Awards, most recently in 2013 for Best R&B Song for Tamar Braxton's "Love and War."
Daniels found massive success when "The Boy Is Mine" dropped when he was just 20 years old. The song was nominated for Best Rythm & Blues Song and Record Of The Year, earning him his first two GRAMMY nods. He followed the hit with Whitney Houston's "It's Not Right But It's Okay," which was nominated the very next year for Best Rythm & Blues Song.
<iframe width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6J538b-OLRU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Daniels went on to collaborate with many more of music's heavy hitters, including George Michael, Spice Girls, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige and Janet Jackson.
"Today we remember GRAMMY Award winner LaShawn 'Big Shiz' Daniels. An eight-time nominee, he was a multitalented music creator who was known for a number of major hits, including Brandy and Monica’s duet 'The Boy Is Mine,' Lady Gaga’s 'Telephone,' and Destiny’s Child’s 'Say My Name,'” said Deborah Dugan, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. "LaShawn will be deeply missed by many, but will be remembered as a music maker who left a lasting legacy to our creative community."
Many members of his artistic cirle took to social media to express thier sadness at the loss of such a young and prolific talent. Artists such as Kehlani, Kirk Franklin, Ari Lennox, Tank and more have posted tributes.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The entire music community is feeling the loss of one of the greatest to ever do it..... LaShawnDaniels...we just stood together a week ago. No words......</p>— Kirk Franklin (@kirkfranklin) <a href="https://twitter.com/kirkfranklin/status/1169226794966429698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
GRAMMY winner Erica Campbell also expressed her gratitude and sadness, posting, "Thank you Shiz for pulling the vocals and swag I had never tapped into. More than that, thank you for laughter friendship and your musical contribution to the world."
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1_gDPBl1BV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1_gDPBl1BV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1_gDPBl1BV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Don’t know what to say I’m so hurt! Man Shawn you were such an incredible dude!! The best part of you was how you loved @iamaprildaniels Thank you Shiz for pulling the vocals and swag I had never tapped into. More than that, thank you for laughter friendship and your musical contribution to the world you and April were definitely one of our favorite couple friends April we got you#lashawndaniels</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/imericacampbell/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Erica Campbell</a> (@imericacampbell) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2019-09-04T14:12:21+00:00">Sep 4, 2019 at 7:12am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
Daniels is survived by his wife, April Daniels, who Campbell mentions above and who confirmed the devastating news in a post earlier today. His music and legacy will live on in the songs and records he created, the lives he touched and the creators he inspired.
Jerry Lawson, Co-Founder Of "Kings Of A Capella" The Persuasions, Dies At 75
