Roger Troutman

Roger Troutman, also known simply as Roger, was a legendary electro-funk artist from Dayton, Ohio. He was a singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist known for using the talkbox and synthesizers. Roger worked with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins early in his career as he led the funk group Zapp, which produced numerous hits such as “Computer Love,” “More Bounce to the Ounce,” “Dance Floor,” and “Doo Wa Ditty” among others. Roger also had solo hits such as “I Want To Be Your Man” and “So Ruff, So Tuff.”

Roger’s influence increased as his songs were being sampled by a number of hip-hop and R&B artists such as 2Pac, Dr. Dre, DJ Quik, Erick Sermon, Redman, Jodeci, and many more. He most notably collaborated with Dr. Dre and 2Pac on the 1996 hit single “California Love.” Tragically, Roger was killed on April 25, 1999 at the age of 47 by his brother and former Zapp groupmate Larry Troutman in a murder-suicide.