July 15, 2020

Remembering Troy "Trouble T-Roy" Dixon (30th Anniversary)


On July 15, 1990, Mt. Vernon native Troy "Trouble T-Roy" Dixon was killed by an accidental fall at the age of 22. It was a freak accident while on tour in Indianapolis with his group, Heavy D & The Boyz. The LA Times added, "The group, from Mt. Vernon, N.Y., was on a 10-city tour and was one of the headline acts for Indianapolis’ Black Expo, which also featured the rap group Public Enemy." Heavy D's group, which also included G-Whiz and Eddie F., paid homage to their childhood friend by dedicating their next album, Peaceful Journey, to his memory in 1991, but it was Pete Rock & CL Smooth who immortalized him in 1992 with their tribute record, “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.).” Pete Rock talked to Village Voice about the record in '07, saying: "When I found the record by Tom Scott, basically I just heard something incredible that touched me and made me cry. It had such a beautiful bassline, and I started with that first. I found some other sounds and then heard some sax in there and used that. Next thing you know, I have a beautiful beat made. When I mixed the song down, I had Charlie Brown from Leaders of the New School in the session with me, and we all just started crying." Pete also said, "To this day, I can’t believe I made it through, the way I was feeling. I guess it was for my boy." T.R.O.Y. remains one of the greatest hip-hop records of all-time and having toured with Pete Rock & CL Smooth, hearing them perform it live (on several occasions), it's just as moving today as it was the very first time I heard that saxophone. R.I.P., Trouble T-Roy.