Obituaries: Canadian 'Mr. Metro' Rapper Devon Martin, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki

Devon Martin (a.k.a. Devon), a Canadian rapper and musician best known for his award-winning 1990 protest single, "Mr. Metro," died on July 23, at age 62. A cause of death has not been reported.

Born in England, Martin was raised in the Mississauga area of Malton. At age 14, he formed his first band, Shock Waves, releasing an independent single in 1977.

He then gained prominence as a keyboardist and vocalist in noted Toronto reggae band 20th Century Rebels, and served as a backing musician for such artists as Bong Conga Nistas, Messenjah, Judy Mowatt and Lillian Allen.

His career was then boosted by the single "Mr. Metro," a a controversial single targeting police racism reportedly inspired by his own experiences in Toronto and California. The Toronto Police Service threatened him on defamation charges, forcing him to black out parts of the video which might have been perceived as identifying Toronto police officers.

Quoted in a recent obituary of Martin published on the CBC website, dub poet Lillian Allen noted that "Toronto had some turmoil of its own. Devon had been to a lot of the [anti-Black racism demonstrations] too, and played at demos for years. So I think that crystallized it."

The video, funded by VideoFACT, went on to win a MuchMusic Video Award in 1990. The track's success led to a major record deal with Capitol/EMI, which released his 1992 album, It's My Nature, featuring Canadian R&B singers Simone Denny and Deborah Cox early on in their careers. The album included a reworked version of "Mr. Metro" and the single "Keep it Slammin,'" for which Martin won the 1993 Juno for best rap recording."

In 1990, Martin, as part of a local supergroup dubbed Dance Appeal, collaborated on the single "Can't Repress the Cause," a plea for greater inclusion of hip hop music in the Canadian music scene.

Devon Martin relocated to Vancouver in 1997, signing to indie label Rated-R Recordz. He released an EP and single both entitled Pressure in 1998 and featuring Orin Isaacs.

Read more on Martin here.

Charles R. Cross, an award-winning and best-selling Seattle-based music journalist and author, died on Aug. 9, of natural causes, at age 67.

Cross edited Seattle's major alt-weekly, The Rocket, and penned bestselling biographies of Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and other major rock figures. His book Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain was considered the definitive portrait of the Nirvana grunge pioneer. It won the 2002 ASCAP Award for Outstanding Musical Biography.

In its obituary, Billboard notes that "Cross wrote nine books including three New York Times bestsellers - Heavier Than Heaven: The Biography of Kurt Cobain, a 2005 Hendrix biography Room Full of Mirrors, lauded by Vibe magazine as one of the best-ever books on music," and a 2012 bestseller with Ann and Nancy Wilson of Rock And Roll Hall of Famers Heart, Kicking & Dreaming.

From 1986 through 2000, Cross served as the editor of the weekly Seattle newspaper The Rocket, giving him a front seat to Nirvana and the age of grunge.

Cross also founded and for many years edited the highly-regarded Bruce Springsteen magazine Backstreets, and edited it for many years. He also contributed to The Seattle Times and such publications as Rolling Stone, Spin, Esquire, Playboy, Guitar World, Q, Uncut, Creem, the London Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Dave Sweetapple, bassist of stoner band Witch, blackened doom band Eerie, and Sweet Apple, has died, at age 58. A cause of death has not been reported, but Tee Pee Records owner Kenny Sehgal shared that he passed in his sleep, according to the initial post made in Brooklyn Vegan.

Sweetapple worked with Tee Pee Records, and helped launch Desertfest NYC in 2019.

The lineup of Witch included legendary rock guitarist J Mascis, of Dinosaur Jr. fame. He formed the band in 2005, as a side project in which he played drums. Their eponymous debut album was released in 2006 by Tee Pee Records, followed by a second album, Paralyzed, in 2008.

Witch toured internationally, making notable appearances at such festivals as SXSW, Roadburn Festival 2012, Burgerama 2015, and Levitation Vancouver 2015, and DesertFest London and DesertFest Berlin.

J. Mascis has canceled his Outlandia Festival slot with Dinosaur Jr. due to a “death in the family.”

Both Mascis and Sweetapple were also members of eclectic rock band Sweet Apple, alongside two members of Cobra Verde (singer-guitarist John Petkovic and guitarist Tim Parnin), Formed in 2010, they released three acclaimed albums. Eerie put out a self-titled album in 2016.

Amongst those posting tribute on social media is Damian Abraham, frontman of Toronto hardcore band Fucked Up. He recalled on Instagram that "The first time I met Dave was at the 2008 SXSW. I approached him and @jmascis at a show @fuckedup was playing and he immediately asked me if I knew about [Toronto hardcore band] Sudden Impact and within minutes we were exchanging our favorite Schzoid songs and bonded for life.

"Dave’s impact on music was immense and too big to sum up with a single band, really. While he certainly played in some amazing bands, he also took photos for countless zines and records (Dag Nasty’s 85-86, to name one). He also co-ran the awesomely underrated Mag Wheel Records, in its early years; as well as doing behind the scenes work at Tee Pee Records.

I can’t tell you how much it hurts to know I’ll never get to talk Maritimes punk and HC with him again. Sending love to the whole @dinosaurjr extended family."

On social media, music festivals Roadburn and Desertfest NYC both expressed remorse and deep sadness. “Dave Sweetapple left an indelible mark on the lives of many, many people and will be sorely missed. Not only was he a talented musician himself but he also nurtured creativity in others, as a mentor, facilitator, and guide,” read a post from Roadburn Fest.

Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO and an influential Google exec, died on Aug. 9, age 56, of cancer.

A Variety obituary notes that "Susan Wojcicki served as CEO of YouTube for nine years during a period of massive growth for the video platform and was one of Google’s first hires."

Wojcicki joined Google in 1999 as the 16th employee, becoming the search engine’s first marketing exec. Among her other accomplishments, she cut the company’s first deals to license search technology and led the initial development of Google’s image search.

In February 2014, she was named YouTube's CEO. Variety states that "this appointment of Wojcicki, one of the company’s most senior execs, reflected how important the video platform had become to its advertising business. She stepped down as CEO of YouTube in February 2023, while remaining an adviser to the company."

In her multiple stints at Google, Wojcicki had overseen product management of AdSense, Google Book Search and Google Video as well as the syndication of the company’s products. Prior to Google, she worked at Intel, Bain & Co. and R.B. Webber & Co.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, in a tribute posted on X said, “She is as core to the history of Google as anyone, and it’s hard to imagine the world without her.”

Read more here.