We’re talking about kidney disease and diabetes on our 6th Anniversary Diabetes Late Nite podcast with musical inspiration from P.M. Dawn.

Prince Be, the frontman for the psychedelic pop-rap group P.M. Dawn, which in the early 1990s died of renal failure resulting from complications of diabetes at age 46.

Prince Be had suffered from diabetes for more than two decades, and had various health problems over the years, among them several strokes, including one in 2005 that left him partly paralyzed, and gangrene, which led to the partial amputation of one leg.

P.M. Dawn stood out for its hippie-esque mysticism, fantastical imagery, Christian references and ethereal musical aesthetic. Prince Be’s performance style blurred the lines between rapping and singing, and between the earthly and the spiritual.

P.M. Dawn’s single “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss” — based on a sample of the new wave standard “True,” by Spandau Ballet — which became the first rap song by a black act to top the Hot 100, Billboard’s pop singles chart.

In 2005, P.M. Dawn appeared on the NBC reality show “Hit Me, Baby, One More Time.” Prince Be, who had suffered a stroke, had to be assisted onto the stage and performed from a seat. The group donated their $20,000 prize to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Guests: Poet Lorraine Brooks, Mama Rose Marie, the Charlie's Angels of Outreach, Lynette Luckers from the Marion Luckers Kidney Foundation, Chef Robert Lewis aka 'The Happy Diabetic', Janis Roszler, RD, CDE, FAND and Leon Petrossian.

Diabetes Late Nite is a fast-paced, full-filled hour of diabetes education and wellness advice that encourages listeners to “laugh a little, learn a lot.”

Diabetes Late Nite Inspired by P.M. Dawn

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