Musician Omar Higgins' funeral set for Tuesday at Clayborn Temple
Bob Mehr
A previous version of this story included the incorrect date of Omar Higgins' death. He died April 18.
Omar Higgins — the bassist and leader of reggae band Chinese Connection Dub Embassy and hardcore punk band Negro Terror — died April 18. Higgins had been hospitalized since suffering a stroke in early April.
A beloved and recognizable figure in the Memphis music community — as musician, singer, and political and community activist — Higgins was 37 years old.
Higgins' funeral is set for April 30 at Downtown's historic Clayborn Temple at 294 Hernando St.
Plans call for a procession to begin on Beale Street at 10:30 a.m. A visitation and pre-funeral reception will follow at the I AM A MAN plaza next to Clayborn Temple at 11 a.m. The funeral will begin at noon.
After the funeral, mourners are invited to stay and celebrate Higgins' life with light refreshments at the I AM A MAN Plaza.
Here are five things to know about his life and career:
1. Higgins, who also lived in Brooklyn for a time, was an Army veteran and a musical chameleon who moved easily between genres. He launched his career in the Bluff City by forming the punk outfit Downfall of Humanity and then the reggae combo The Soul Enforcers.
2. In 2010, Higgins would go on to form Chinese Connection Dub Embassy along with his brothers Joe and David Higgins. The reggae-rooted combo would become one of the most active bands in the Bluff City, establishing several popular nightclub residencies and releasing their debut album "The Firm Foundation" in 2013. The group's clever reimagining of pop songs was a staple of their live sets, including this version of Norwegian group A-Ha's mid-'80s hit "Take on Me."
3. In 2016, Higgins — who had come up in New York's punk scene — decided to form a hardcore band, birthing Negro Terror. The group's 2017 debut EP, "The Bootleg" featured the anthem "Voice of Memphis." The group filmed a performance of the song live at Al Town Skate Park for the local Beale Street Caravan program in 2018.
4. Higgins and Negro Terror are the subject of a new documentary film. Directed by John Rash, "Negro Terror" premiered at the 2018 Indie Memphis Film Festival, where it won the "Soul of Southern Film Award." The film is described as "a cinematic and musical portrait of a punk band's role within the vibrant and eclectic underground music community of Memphis." In addition to focusing on the band's music, it also explores the politics of the city, and looks at how Negro Terror is "far more than just another hardcore punk band with a provocative name." The film has also been shown at various film festivals — from Oxford, Mississippi, to Bochum, Germany — over the last few months, often with the band performing as part of the screenings. The film is booked to play at a variety of festivals and events over the next few months.
5. Negro Terror's much-anticipated official length debut, "Paranoia" — produced by Lucero's John C. Stubblefield — is done and scheduled for release this year. Following Higgins' passing, Stubblefield remembered the musician as "an undeniable force of positivity" in Memphis. He added that Higgins' "care and concern for unity in the Memphis music scene was absolutely contagious. He [made] Memphis a better place."