Urban Statement (lost unfinished Roger Troutman album; 1998)

Roger Troutman performing live with his band Zapp.

Status: Lost

Tags: music roger troutman lost audio zapp

Roger Troutman was a singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, known for his use of the talk box and large influence on early 90's west coast hip hop. He was a member of the group Zapp with his brothers Larry, Terry and Lester. They had a string of hits in the 1980s and during the 1990s, rappers would often sample their songs, leading Roger to record new vocals for many artists, most notably Tupac's California Love in 1996.

According to a 1998 interview with Tiffany Bacon, Roger had 2 albums in the works, Urban Statement and Roger & Friends. Unfortunately, Roger's brother and fellow bandmate Larry shot him dead before turning the gun on himself on April 25th, 1999. In 2018, Roger & Friends was released, but only 2 songs feature vocal and instrumental performance by Roger, leaving the rest unreleased. Urban Statement has never been released.