What Really Happened to Static Major?

Originally posted on June 1, 2014

Stephen “Static Major” Garrett was a Grammy Award winning singer, song writer, rapper and producer. He was one of the best song writers in the music industry. He was referred to as “Hip Hop’s best kept secret”. He is known mostly for writing for the late R&B singer Aaliyah, but he has written for other artists including Beyonce, Ginuwine, Lil Wayne, Jay Z and Brandy.

Static was born November 11, 1974 and passed away on February 25, 2008 in a hospital in Louisville, KY due to medical malpractice. Static was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder with hallmark symptoms of muscle weakness and fatigue. On the day of his death, doctors called for a treatment similar to dialysis to remove the autoantibodies from this blood by placing a catheter in his neck. After a nurse was instructed to remove the catheter, Static’s body went into distress and did not recover. Static’s wife, Avoni Garrett, filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in 2009 against the Baptist Hospital East in Louisville. The case resulted in a multi-million dollar settlement with the hospital and doctor prior to trial.

Since it was the 25th day of February that Static died, conspiracy theorists’ believe there is something strange surrounding his death. This is primarily because several celebrities have died on the 25th including, Aaliyah, Left Eye, James Brown, Micheal Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Eartha Kitt, to name a few. According to conspiracy theories, the 25th is the day chosen for ritual killings in the entertainment world.

Static was signed with Blackground Records, the same record label that Aaliyah was signed to and happens to be owned by her uncle, Barry Hankerson. Hankerson introduced Aaliyah to R. Kelly when she was 12. Barry was R. Kelly’s former manager and rumored to have leaked the R. Kelly sextape (of Kelly with an underaged girl) to the Chicago police after R. Kelly fired him.

Blackground records (Barry Hankerson) is known for giving artists unfair contracts. A video that was released on YouTube makes claims that Aaliyah was murdered by Blackground because she left the label to sign with Virgin records.

Blackground artist JoJo tweeted this in 2013 about the label:

“If you are OVER 18 and are about to enter into a CONTRACT- ya better read it over. In and out. But if you are a CHILD- you should not be bound to a contract with no time limit. From 12-22…?! Think how much you change in 10 years…If you are curious what’s going on… Do a lil research. Google the characters in this situation. I don’t want to say too much.”

Here is what Honesty Hour is reporting about her tweet:

If you are wondering what JoJo is referring to, it’s probably the recording contract she signed with Blackground Records when she was only twelve-years-old – but let’s not make assumptions. 

Ten years later, the outside distribution deal Blackground once had with Interscope Records has fizzled, the label’s funds have been depleted and they basically have no staff to do the work necessary to run a successful label.

Yet, someone is holding JoJo captive and her career has been at a standstill for the past several years. The contract locks her in for seven studio albums and she has completed two to date. As of now, her new album has been delayed with an unknown release date.

What is JoJo to do? Should she sit back and twiddle her thumbs? Time is money, people. Each day that passes, her fanbase and supporters must suffer all because of a stupid piece of paper that she signed at a young age that should have helped her more than hurt her. She needs to be on radio. She needs to be on TV. She needs to be everywhere but someone says, “Nope.”

Blackground records is currently reported to be flat broke without a physical building location or distribution deal. The label’s biggest assets were Aaliyah and Static Major. It’s reported that Static Major also wanted to leave the label.

After Static Major passed away, a rumor spread that unreleased recordings of songs he had wrote and produced (for himself) were sold to other artists. This means other artists had purchased songs originally written and produced by Static and passed them off as their own original work, with no credit given to Static. Those demos belonged to the label because he was under contract when the songs were recorded. Therefore, the transactions would go directly to the label.

Static had tremendous talent and wrote number one hits. Did you know the song “Look What You’ve Done” was written (freestyle) by Static? A video of Static recording the song in the studio hit the internet after he died. Now the same song is on Drake’s “Take Care” album. It’s also rumored that rapper Lil Wayne has re-recorded a couple of Static’s unreleased demos and passed them off as his own original work.

One month after Static died, rapper Lil Wayne released his super hit single “Lollipop”, which was written and produced by Static. The song took Lil Wayne to another level in music popularity. It was “Lollipop” that took Lil Wayne to “mainstream” status. It was Lil Wayne’s highest charting single as both a lead artist or as a featured performer. It was also the first rap song to reach number one on the charts since 2006.

Here is a partial list of Static’s Discography:

1995:

“Gin & Juice”
with Devante Swing

1996:

“Pony,” written for Ginuwine

1998:

Cheers 2 U, album with Playa

“Are You that Somebody” written for Aaliyah

“Eyes Better Not Wander” written for Nicole Wray

“To My” with Timbaland

“What Cha Talkin’ Bout”
with Timbaland

1999:

“Same Ol’ G” and “So Anxious” written for Ginuwine

“Say My Name”
(Timbaland’s Remix)
written for Destiny’s Child

2000:

“Change the Game” with Jay-Z “You Owe Me” written for Nas

“Try Again” written for Aaliyah “Come Back In One Piece” written for Aaliyah

“We At It Again”
with Timbaland & Magoo

2001:

“Loose Rap”
written for and with Aaliyah

“We Need a Resolution”
written for Aaliyah

“Rock The Boat”
written for Aaliyah

“More Than a Woman”
written for Aaliyah

“Indian Carpet”
with Timbaland & Magoo

2002:

“Addictive”
written for Truth Hurts

2003:

“Crank It Up”
for and with David Banner

2004:

“Come as You Are” for Brandy

“I Came to Bring the Pain”
with Lil’ Flip

2005:

“Juicy” with Pretty Ricky

2006:

“On the Hotline” for Pretty Ricky

“Can I Take U Home”
for and with Jamie Foxx

2007:

“Good Weather Music”
with T-Hud featuring UGK

2008:

“Lollipop”
Lil Wayne featuring Static/Major

Was Static’s death really an accident caused by hospital mistake or was his unreleased hit recordings a cash cow for his label and top industry artists?

Queen

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