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Aaron Spears, a Grammy-nominated drummer who played with Usher, Ariana Grande and many other major pop stars, has died. He was 47.<\/p>\n
His death was confirmed on Monday in a statement on his official Instagram account<\/a> by his wife Jessica that was co-signed by the couple\u2019s son August. The statement did not provide details about other survivors or specify a time, place or cause of death. Representatives for Spears could not immediately be reached for comment late Monday night.<\/p>\n In 2004, he earned a Grammy nomination<\/a> as a producer for Usher<\/a>\u2019s album \u201cConfessions,\u201d which sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. The next year, Spears drummed during the Grammys for a medley of Usher\u2019s \u201cCaught Up\u201d<\/a> and James Brown\u2019s \u201cSex Machine,\u201d a performance<\/a> that made the drumming community take notice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Over the years, Spears would play with Grande, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Lil Wayne, among many other artists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve seen Aaron drum prolly 5-10 times in your life if you attend concerts & sometimes without knowing,\u201d Questlove<\/a>, the D.J., drummer and producer, said in an Instagram<\/a> post on Monday. \u201cThat\u2019s how much in demand his services were.\u201d<\/p>\n Aaron Spears was born on Oct. 26, 1976, according to a profile<\/a> published by Remo, a drumming equipment manufacturer that sponsored him.<\/p>\n He was from Washington D.C., grew up in the Pentecostal faith and developed an interest in drumming through his involvement with the church. As a child, he later said in an interview<\/a> with the German show drumtalk, he would sit on someone\u2019s lap in church playing \u201cthe stuff up top\u201d while they played the pedals.<\/p>\n One of his first professional gigs was drumming in Gideon Band, a group with a style spanning jazz, rock and R&B. He demonstrated his musical prowess by never repeating a \u201cchop,\u201d or rhythmic phrase, the band said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Moving from the local scene in Washington to the national one was intimidating, Spears said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe level of musicianship had me questioning if I belonged there,\u201d he told drumtalk in 2018. \u201cI just didn\u2019t know if I was ready to make the jump.\u201d<\/p>\n He clearly did belong. For nearly two decades after his breakthrough performance at the Grammys, Spears played with a long list of major artists, including Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. He also performed on \u201cLate Night with Seth Meyers\u201d and was the music coordinator and drummer for a season of the television show \u201cThe Masked Singer<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Offstage, Spears held drum clinics and master classes around the world. During one such educational visit this year to Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., he sat in for a performance<\/a> with the school\u2019s marching band, the Human Jukebox<\/a>.<\/p>\n But even after a long career, Spears expressed humility<\/a> about his success, saying that he was careful to \u201cstay relatable\u201d and avoid developing a false sense of entitlement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe success that I\u2019ve had is not necessarily because of me,\u201d he said in a video<\/a> published in May on the website of Ludwig Drums, one of his sponsors. \u201cIt\u2019s really the connection that I\u2019ve had with other musicians has helped to make me better.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n