O the Times dealt with poverty, drug addiction and violence. In 2002, he held a forum at Paisley Park with prominent black academics Tavis Smiley, Michael Eric Dyson and Comel West. In May 2015, he performed in Baltimore following heated protests throughout the city over the death in police custody of 25-year-ol

Legacy. Marvin Gaye has been called "the number-one purveyor of soul music". In his book, Mercy Mercy Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye, Michael Eric Dyson described Gaye as someone "who transcended the boundaries of rhythm and blues as no other performer had done before". His recordings for Motown in