Omar Higgins, bassist and vocalist of Memphis hardcore punk band Negro Terror, passed away on Thursday, April 18. Higgins was hospitalized roughly two weeks ago, and remained in the ICU after being diagnosed with both a mini-stroke and a staph infection.
Originally born in Brooklyn, Higgins has been a fixture in the underground Memphis music scene for roughly 15 years. After joining the Army and doing two tours of duty in Iraq, Higgins launched a powerviolence group dubbed Downfall of Humanity in 2004, followed by reggae act The Soul Enforcers, before joining eclectic band Chinese Connection Dub Embassy. Negro Terror, an all-black old-school hardcore trio, surfaced in 2015 and gained some traction after covering two songs by white power band, Skrewdriver.
The Higgins issued the following statement earlier today:
"It saddens us to announce that Omar passed away this past Thursday. Omar fought so hard and never gave up hope as so many friends and family prayed and came to visit him almost every day he was in the hospital. Omar loved so many people from all walks of life and he made sure to always help anyone that came to him in need of advice and would do anything that would bring peace. Omar wanted to continue to do what he loved and was healing others through music and conversation. If you or anyone you care about ever needs help, please fight with every muscle in your body to help them with every ounce of love you can summon.
"We love all of you so much as does Omar – let us continue to keep his memory alive and cemented in the history books of Memphis Music."
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