Blount Has a Super Bowl Ring

Lagarrette Blount is the great-nephew of Sun Ra. “Sun Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, legal name Le Sony’r Ra;[1] May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993) was an American jazzcomposer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his experimental music, “cosmic philosophy,” prolific output, and theatrical performances. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1979. For much of his career, Ra led “The Arkestra”, an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up.
Born and raised in Alabama, Blount would eventually become involved in the 1940s Chicago jazz scene. He soon abandoned his birth name, taking the name Sun Ra (after Ra, the Egyptian God of the Sun) and developing a complex persona and mythology that would make him a pioneer of Afrofuturism: he claimed he was an alien from Saturn on a mission to preach peace, and throughout his life he consistently denied any ties to his prior identity.[2] His widely eclectic and exploratory music would eventually touch on virtually the entire history of jazz, ranging from swing music and bebopto free jazz and fusion, and his compositions ranged from keyboard solos to big bands of over 30 musicians. From the mid-1950s until his death, Ra led the musical collective The Arkestra (which featured artists such as Marshal Allen, John Gilmore, June Tyson throughout its various iterations). Its performances often included dancers and musicians dressed in elaborate, futuristic costumes inspired by ancient Egyptian attire and the space age.