Key Takeaways
- Kevin Spencer, a founding member, singer, songwriter, keyboardist, and bassist for R&B/funk group Dynasty, died Sept. 17 after battling cancer; he was 71.
- Spencer helped shape Dynasty hits including “I’ve Just Begun to Love You,” while the group’s “Adventures in the Land of Music” later powered Camp Lo’s 1996 hip-hop classic “Luchini AKA This Is It.”
- His wider SOLAR Records legacy included studio work with Shalamar, the Whispers, and Gladys Knight & the Pips, plus a return to Dynasty for reunion singles in 2020 and 2021.
Kevin Spencer, a founding member of the R&B and funk group Dynasty whose music later powered Camp Lo’s hip-hop classic “Luchini AKA This Is It,” has died. The singer, songwriter, keyboardist, and bassist was 71.
Spencer died on Sept. 17 following a battle with cancer. Carrie Lucas-Griffey, co-founder of Dynasty’s label, SOLAR Records, confirmed the news in a Facebook tribute. “Tall, handsome, and one of the lead singers in the group, Kevin’s dynamic performances were a part of what made the group shine,” she wrote.
Lucas-Griffey also described Spencer as a “multi-talented musician and songwriter” who regularly contributed background vocals to albums by other acts on the label.
Spencer helped form Dynasty’s original lineup with vocalists Nidra Beard and Linda Carriere. SOLAR founder Dick Griffey and producer Leon Sylvers III assembled the Los Angeles group, a key architect of the label’s sleek fusion of R&B, funk, and disco.
Spencer’s path into the group was suitably direct: He reportedly showed up unannounced at the Sylvers family’s home to audition as a bass player. He then performed with the Sylvers, setting the stage for his place in Dynasty.
The group made an immediate impact with its 1979 debut, Your Piece of the Rock, and the dance-floor hit “I Don’t Want to Be a Freak (But I Can’t Help Myself).” Dynasty followed it one year later with Adventures in the Land of Music, which produced “I’ve Just Begun to Love You.”
The single climbed to No. 6 on Billboard’s R&B chart and became the group’s biggest hit. Dynasty kept its run going with records including “Here I Am,” “Love in the Fast Lane,” “Check It Out,” and “Strokin’.”
But Dynasty’s influence did not stop when the group’s original run ended. The title track from Adventures in the Land of Music found an entirely new audience in 1996 when Camp Lo sampled it for “Luchini AKA This Is It.” The track became the Bronx duo’s signature record—and turned Dynasty’s lush groove into a permanent piece of hip-hop history.
Angie Stone, Brooke Valentine, Jadakiss, Teedra Moses, and Wiz Khalifa were among the other artists who later sampled the group’s music. Spencer’s studio work also extended beyond Dynasty, with contributions to recordings by Carrie Lucas, Shalamar, the Whispers, and Gladys Knight & the Pips.
Spencer eventually returned to Dynasty for the reunion singles “Escape” (2020) and “I Can Tell” (2021). In his own tribute, Quez Gaines called him a “big brotha, friend, confidant,” and “one of the greatest songwriters I know.”
Gaines added that Spencer had spent the past several years battling cancer before declaring, “I’ll definitely keep the legacy alive.”
Spencer’s death comes less than three years after original Dynasty vocalist Nidra Beard died from cancer at 71.
