Michael Jones a.k.a. Kashif has Died

Kashif was not only a great producer but a popular solo artist as well. He has been the innovative producer and songwriter for songs by Evelyn “Champagne” King and Whitney Houston. He passed away in his home in Playa del Rey from undetermined causes at the age of 59 years old.

There were many people who took to social media to pay their respects to Kashif, from Chuck D to Jimmy Jam the producer and songwriter. Even the soul singer Howard Johnson was blown away by Kashif’s music.

Kashif was born Michael Jones in Harlem New York and was brought up in the Brooklyn foster care system. He started his career playing multiple instruments – piano, trumpet, flute, tuba and saxophone. He had his first professional gig at the young age of 15 as a vocalist and keyboardist in a 70s disco/funk band.

Kashif means inventor and discoverer, which is more like the producer/songwriter than his given name. The name Michael is taken from a Hebrew name that means “who is like God?” In fact, this is a rhetorical question, as no person is like God.

The name Michael became popular after the archangel from the Bible. In the New testament Michael is the leader of heaven’s armies and therefore is considered the patron saint of soldiers. The name was so popular, that it was used by many Byzantine emperors, like Michael VIII Palaeologus from the 13th century. Since the Middle Ages, it has become common in Western Europe and England.