The beats go on

On Feb. 25, the music industry lost one of its most successful R&B songwriters when Louisville native Stephen Garrett, aka Static, aka Static/Major, died at age 33.

Static was well-known as a member of the R&B trio Playa, but within the music industry, he was known as the mastermind behind some of this generation's greatest songs.

Though I didn't know it back then, Static literally wrote the soundtrack to my teen years. Songs like Ginuwine's "Pony" and "So Anxious," Playa's hit "Cheers 2 U" and Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody" and "Try Again" bring back so many high school memories for me -- and they were all penned by Static.

I never met Static, but I spent this summer talking to his friends and family members who miss his smile and people in the music industry who regard him as a genius.

I share their memories of Static in the story "The Beats Go On" in this week's issue of Velocity. The story can be found online on Louisville's new Metromix site. Click here to check it out.