by Ryan Craggs 

Not enough people my age understand the genius of Marvin Gaye. Most assuredly, the person of average pop-culture IQ will be familiar with the song “Let’s Get It On” as a means of getting it on. However, Marvin Gaye’s music means so much more than simply finding a way to set the mood to get busy.

A supremely adept showman, Gaye was gifted with a voice so emotive that God would envy its perfect tone and pitch. Even so, a fair number of musicians aren’t necessarily great at one thing or another—performing, producing or songwriting—but Gaye excelled on all fronts. From his early roots as a studio musician through his metamorphosis into an unprecedented Motown success, Gaye defined talent. His 1978 performance of “Let’s Get It On” in Amsterdam provides a glimpse into the genius this world so dearly misses:

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Gaye’s personal demons are well-documented, as his failed marriage led to the production of the album Here, My Dear, with a bizarre alimony settlement sending the proceeds to his ex-wife. More importantly, Gaye battled drug use and depression, and eventually in an attempt to rid himself of his troubles, he moved into his parents home. It was during this time that the Reverend Marvin Gay, Sr. and his musician son argued over business documents, and on April 1, 1984, the voice of one of music’s most powerful voices was forever silenced by the blast of his father’s gun.Though Gaye’s discography touches all corners of emotion for me, I find myself continually drawn back to 1971’s What’s Going On and 1973’s Let’s Get It On. Here and now, when hip-hop culture is so much about image and machismo, vanquishing rivals and becoming something of a crime syndicate boss through violence and drugs, pausing and listening to Gaye’s music flips the script. His story is about love, life in the inner-city, and how to make something more of it all. When Gaye croons the lines, “We don’t need to escalate/You see, war is not the answer/ For only love can conquer hate,” there’s a lesson that anyone can learn from. In a time as confusing as ours and amidst Black History Month in the U.S., we should all take time to reflect and recognize an artist with a message. Gaye poses the question, “Would you rather make love children/ As opposed to war?”

I know my answer.