Many thanks to those of you who have donated and thanks in advance to those who will donate. So much love and appreciation to everyone who knows and loves Ronnie and have pulled together to make this happen :-) Hello. My name is Nimi Parker-Asante. I'm a local Cartographer teaming up with Kansas City music producer Icy Roc (Sean Raspberry) to help a well-known and well-loved Kansas City Musician Ronnie Fells. As a gifted studio and stage musician, Ronnie entertained Kansas Citians in venues all over the city...from 1990 to 2017. If you've enjoyed live music in the Kansas City night scene, you've likely enjoyed music played by Ronnie. He has played backup for or been a member of a plethora of Kansas City Bands and musicians like, Max Groove, Reggie B, Gray Matter, Karma, Soul Bandit, Sean Tyler, Baby Lee, KXO, The New World Order, Sequel, Soul's Poem, Bloodstone, and Lo-Key?. Ronnie has had his vocals featured on music by Tech N9ne ("Killer") and Krizz Kaliko ("Vitiligo" and "Let's Dip"). Ronnie had a musical mom (Murline Fells of the McClellan-Akers Singers of Greater Kansas City and Roger Akers & The Chosen People). He looked up to and admired her. She was highly regarded on the gospel scene, writing and composing songs for gospel greats like James Cleveland. Her vocal talent, songwriting, composing, and live performances had a powerful influence on him, inspiring him to play the drums, bass guitar, lead guitar, and keyboards, which became his primary instrument. "We Can Make it by Faith" by Roger Akers and The Chosen People - https://youtu.be/ZVKZuBNUYuE Ronnie's grandfather, Louis Wright, was a also talented piano player and a member of the doo wop band "The Scamps". Like Ronnie, his grandfather entertained many in the 18th & Vine district. If you find yourself at the Blue Room, you'll see Louis Wright there in a photograph on the wall with The Scamps. "Yes, My Baby" - by The Scamps - https://youtu.be/ISWDULyxDAo Music has always been Ronnie's one true love. The only things Ronnie loves more than music are his beloved mother...and God. But in 2017, things took a turn for the worst. Ronnie's musical journey was abruptly interrupted when he suffered a debilitating seizure, stroke, and bypass surgery all within a very short period. His eyesight began to deteriorate and he eventually suffered total vision loss. Ronnie began to push through recovery with the help and support of his mother but lost her to Covid-19. He was devastated. She was his rock and his anchor to the rest of his family. Today, Ronnie continues to stand in the face of all that has happened with a gentle steadfastness that has always been a big part of who he is...but he is largely alone. The loss of his vision combined with the loss of his biggest support led to his decision to move into an assisted living facility. He has the support of a handful of family members and good friends who shore him up. Our goal is to give music back to Ronnie. While he continues to play bass guitar for his church, he lacks the outlet of songwriting and recording that he previously had. We know that the musical gifts the Creator has granted him are still within his reach. We hope to raise the funds to provide Ronnie with the technology to remotely interface with producers, musicians and friends who will record with and for him. Our goal is to gift him the ability to fully express the music that flows through his family and him. The funds we're able to raise will go toward the following equipment and technology for Ronnie. Any additional funds will be used for assistive technology for the visually impaired to help him navigate the world more seamlessly: OrCam MyEye - https://www.orcam.com/en-us/orcam-myeye UPDATE as of end of December, 2024: We've raised $870 at this time and have added additional funds to acquire a Macbook Pro for Ronnie. We are now working to optimize it for easy access for him and working to ensure ease of remote interfacing with production partners. Ronnie has so much music in his head that we just wanna help him express it. Update as of February 2024: The February 9th, 2024 benefit held at the KC Jazz Museum's Blue Room raised enough funds to acquire the OrCam MyEye at a heavily discounted price. Additionally, we have purchased a new phone for Ronnie that is able to run assistive apps such as Microsoft Seeing AI. We have also purchased a bone conducting bluetooth earbud set that will allow Ronnie to hear his Orcam MyEye through the earbuds while not blocking out the sound of his surroundings. Any additional funds raised will be used to purchase other assistive technology as needed. Many Thanks "First, I wanna thank Sean "Icy Roc" Raspberry and Nimi Parker-Asante for being the impetus for all of this. I wanna thank Gerald Dunn and Darron Story for opening the doors of the Jazz Museum for the benefit concert held on February 9th. I wanna thank my long-time friend, Sean Tyler for hosting the event. Sending thanks to Preston Portley's band for their awesome performance at the benefit. I wanna thank Cornell Hardy and the members of Soul Bandit, Tyrone Yarbrough, Renee Tillman and the members of The Sequel. I wanna thank Crayge Lindsey, Big Kev (Kevin Pierce), and Quentin Donley. There are so many other people I'd like to thank. If I don't say your name here, forgive me. Charge it to my head and not my heart. I was choked up and overwhelmed by the great turn out at the benefit. I am humbled and blessed to have so many great friends that came out for me. I don't have the words to express how this made me feel. Thank you all for supporting me and for just being there." -Ronne Fells
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