Benny Negro (a.k.a. Ricardo Tubbs VIP), American Entertainment Industry Man of Honduran Garifuna Heritage, Passes Away

This Show Business Man of Many Talents was 44 Years Old At The Time of his Death.

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2021 Copyright by Teofilo Colon Jr. a.k.a. Tio Teo or T.O. Tayo. All Rights Reserved. Contact Tio Teo.

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Homestead, Florida: Entertainment Industry Man of Many Talents, both behind the scenes and in front of the spotlight, Benny Negro (a.k.a. Ricardo Tubbs VIP) passed away on February 22nd 2021. A cause of death has not been publicly announced.

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Benny Negro

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Born on June 24th 1976, Mr. Robert Melendez (a.k.a. Benny Negro) was born and raised in Harlem, New York to parents from Limon, Honduras. Mr. Melendez was the oldest of three children. He had one brother and one sister.

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Close Up of Benny Negro

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Benny Negro had three sons. I do not know if he was married at the time of his passing.

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The name Benny Negro came from the character Benny Blanco from the Bronx in the 1993 Brian DePalma movie starring Al Pacino, Carlito’s Way.

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Actor and Comedian John Leguizamo portrayed Benny Blanco from the Bronx.

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: John Leguizamo as Benny Blanco in the 1993 Movie, Carlito’s Way.

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Al Pacino as Carlito Brigante and John Leguizamo as Benny Blanco in the 1993 Movie, Carlito’s Way.

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Years later, when Benny Negro moved to the Miami area in the state of Florida, he adopted the nickname, Ricardo Tubbs from the African American character in the 1980’s Miami Vice TV Show portrayed by actor Phillip Michael Thomas.

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In reviewing Benny Negro’s resume, it’s quite evident that he was a very productive man who made the most of his short time on earth. The man had MANY jobs in the Entertainment Industry.

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I was not able to confirm what Benny Negro did for regular work.

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While watching an Interview with Benny Negro, he explained that he became fascinated with Show Business at a relatively young age.

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Benny Negro started out in Show Business handing out flyers for Woman Promoter and AIDS Activist , Maria Davis. The flyers advertised various Music Industry Talent Showcases that she hosted in New York City.

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PHOTO CAPTION: Woman Promoter and AIDS Activist, Maria Davis speaks at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale for a 2014 World AIDS Day Event. Uncredited Photo.

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Benny Negro’s cousin, Mateo Velasquez, a Hip-Hop Dancer, alerted him to Maria Davis’s work when Benny Negro was a student at Long Island University in Brooklyn.

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Around the same time, Benny Negro also helped beloved DJ, Kool DJ Red Alert, by carrying crates of Kool DJ Red Alert’s record collection from party to party.

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ABOVE CAPTION: Kool DJ Red Alert playing music at a Crotona Park Jam at Crotona Park in the Bronx. Photo by Teofilo Colon Jr Photography for Friends of Crotona Park, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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I had come across a tribute to Benny Negro from Kool DJ Red Alert’s Facebook profile, but when I recently went to look for it for inclusion in this article, it was gone.

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I took a photo of it, but can’t find it at the moment. When I do, I will update this article with it.

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In any event, Benny Negro had a LONG list of jobs in his career in Entertainment.

• Radio Personality
• Internet TV Personality
• Nightclub Promoter
• Canvasser
• Talent Scout
• Model Scout
• Rapper
• Poet
• Promoter
• Producer
• Member of The EPMD Offshoot, The Hit Squad

And who knows what else? In talking to a relative of Benny Negro’s, he wanted to be associated with anything in the media, anything having to do with the spotlight, Entertainment or Show Business, period.

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Hip-Hop Music was Benny Negro’s passion. His cousin, Carlos A. Alvarez, remembers:

“Hip-Hop was his passion! I remember going to his house back in the day and he would have every issue of the Source Magazine and Word Up Magazines.” — Carlos A. Alvarez on Benny Negro

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Below is a video where Benny Negro performs a rap for a Radio Host. You can hear the rap at approximately the 1:37 point of the video. He raps for about a minute, ending at about the 2:28 point.

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Benny Negro also kept his Garifuna heritage in mind, and at times, figured out how to express it with his passion for Hip-Hop music.

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Mr. Alvarez tells me that on one occasion, Benny Negro had a DJ take the instrumental to the Boogie Down Productions/KRS-ONE song, “The Bridge Is Over” and mixed a Garifuna Folk song into it.

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Benny Negro and Rapper KRS-One. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

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In another interview I came across, Benny Negro took the time to share what he knew of Garifuna History with a journalist who interviewed him.

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In insisting that he share that with a journalist, it suggests that Benny Negro kept his Garifuna Heritage in mind, at a time when few did.

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NOTE: Benny Negro was featured in an issue of Garifuna Movement Magazine in their December 2008 Issue. If anyone has a copy of that issue, please forward a photo of the cover, which apparently has Benny Negro on it, over to me.

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I didn’t have the privilege of knowing Benny Negro. I hadn’t ever met him. We had a brief email or DM exchange or two, but that’s it. I had heard of Benny Negro, though.

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I first heard of Benny Negro when Grupo Xcstacy were featured at his Monthly Music Showcase at Manny’s on Second, a Sports Bar in Yorkville, Manhattan.

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Their appearance was a way to expose this Garifuna Band to a wider audience. The video below (October 21st 2009) was what I initially saw and where I first heard of Benny Negro, who hosted the Music Showcase.

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ABOVE VIDEO CAPTION: Garifuna American Band, Grupo Xcstacy performing on the Benny Negro & Frankie Bonez Show on October 21st 2009. Part One.

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ABOVE VIDEO CAPTION: Garifuna American Band, Grupo Xcstacy performing on the Benny Negro & Frankie Bonez Show on October 21st 2009. Part Two.

You can see and hear Benny Negro at the end of the video when he gives a speech to the audience exploring what he have in common.

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I was impressed with Grupo Xcstacy’s brief but dynamic performance. It was nice to see the group pay homage to Benny Negro upon his passing in February. On Facebook, they announced:

“We are saddened by the news of the passing of one of our biggest supporters and friends since our early days as a band, Benny Negro.

Benny helped create many opportunities for us to perform in front of audiences that we had never encountered before and we are forever grateful for his hospitality, generosity and general love that he showed us every chance he got.

We would like to send our deepest condolences to his family and friends.

May You Rest In Peace, Brother. — Grupo Xcstacy (Garifuna American Band)

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As a radio host or Internet TV Host, Benny Negro has interviewed many artists and people in Entertainment. He’s interviewed or taken photos with:

• Rappers
• Singers
• Actors
• Movie Directors

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Benny Negro with Salt from the rap group, Salt-N-Pepa.

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Benny Negro poses for a photo with Salt (a.k.a. Cheryl James) from the rap group, Salt-N-Pepa

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Greg Nice, from Rap Group, Nice and Smooth, being Interviewed by Benny Negro.

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Benny Negro interviewing The Rapper, NAS.

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ABOVE VIDEO CAPTION: Benny Negro Interviews the Rapper NAS

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Rapper Black Rob Interviewed by Benny Negro.

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Rapper Black Rob Interviewed by Benny Negro.

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Carving a career for yourself in Entertainment is very hard. There isn’t one set formula nor standard career route, it’s different for just about everyone.

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Hopefully, this post can help shed light on a unique man who worked in Entertainment.

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In January 2021, Benny Negro let people on Facebook know that he battled Heart Disease. In fact, he revealed that he was in a coma for a couple of months as a result of Congenerative Heart Disease.

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Perhaps Benny Negro’s Heart Condition had something to do with his passing, but I don’t know for sure.

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Movie Director Robert Townsend poses with a photo with Benny Negro.

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Sean Combs (a.k.a. “Diddy”, “Puff Daddy”, etc) with Benny Negro in a photo.

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Havoc from Rap Group, Mobb Deep, Benny Negro and Prodigy from Rap Group, Mobb Deep pose for a photo. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Mr. Cheeks from Rap Group, Lost Boyz, Actress Lynn Whitfield (I Think), and Benny Negro pose for a photo.

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ABOVE PHOTO CAPTION: Rapper Redman with Benny Negro.

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Any family, friends or colleagues of Benny Negro’s can leave comments below and share their memories of this unique young man of Garifuna Heritage.

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By all accounts, Benny Negro lived quite a life. Maybe his loved ones can share more information about that life.

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In any event, every time I come across someone of Garifuna Heritage who has passed away, I can’t help but think of our mortality as people.

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I also wonder about legacy and all things related to that. What will people have to say and feel about you when you are gone?

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Leiba Ameragua, Robert Melendez.