Bob Power, a recording engineer and producer whose behind-the-scenes work shaped many of hip-hop’s most celebrated records, has died at the age of 73. A funeral notice confirmed he died Sunday, March 1. A cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.
Power’s technical approach and musical sensibility made him a central figure in the studio during the genre’s formative years. His engineering helped anchor projects connected to the Native Tongues collective, including A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory and De La Soul’s De La Soul Is Dead, albums widely credited with expanding hip-hop’s sonic palette through jazz-influenced samples and deeper low-end mixes.
His credits also extended into the rise of neo-soul. Power worked on Erykah Badu’s Baduizm and D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar, both key releases in the mid-1990s revival of soul-influenced R&B.
Born in Chicago in 1952, Power studied music theory at Webster College in St. Louis before earning a master’s degree in jazz at Lone Mountain College in San Francisco. Early in his career he wrote music for television and advertising, including jingles for national brands, before relocating to New York in the early 1980s to pursue studio work.
His entry into hip-hop came through a session with the Brooklyn group Stetsasonic at Calliope Studios. The collaboration led to further projects within the Native Tongues circle and established Power as a trusted engineer for artists pushing the genre’s creative boundaries.
Beyond the studio, Power became an educator, joining New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music in 2006. He taught production and engineering there for nearly two decades, retiring in 2025 with professor emeritus status.
Condolences to his friends and family; rest easy.
