Arrest made after beating pioneer Black Bronx rocker to death

NEW YORK (AP) — New York police have arrested a man in connection with the fatal shooting of a pioneering rock musician in the Bronx.

Sharief Bodden, 29, was charged Friday with the murder of Peter Forrest, a 64-year-old Bronx resident who, under the stage name P. Fluid, had been the frontman of 24/7 Spyz.

The Bronx band was part of a wave of black-led rock bands, including Living Color and Fishbone, that emerged in the 1980s, blending elements of heavy metal, funk, R&B, punk and other genres.

Among the group’s signature songs was a remake of Kool & the Gang’s “Jungle Boogie.” Forrest left the band during the 1990 tour with Jane’s Addiction, according to Rolling stone.

The Black Rock Coalition, a New York-based artists’ collective, remembered Forrest as an “essential chapter of an essential group” in the history of the group, formed by Vernon Reid of Living Color and other black musicians.

“Fluid was one of the most creative, charismatic, energetic and powerful leaders in the industry,” the organization said. wrote on his Facebook page. “His stage presence and dynamic personality were matched by only a few.”

Police said Forrest was found unconscious and beaten inside the private bus he was driving on Monday. He was pronounced dead at the scene and the medical examiner’s office determined he had blunt force injuries to the head and torso.

Video surveillance obtained by News 12 Bronx showed a man exiting the bus around 9 a.m. and getting into a separate car with a woman. About an hour later, another ambulance company employee arrived and discovered Forrest’s body inside the van.

Bodden faces charges of murder, manslaughter, criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a weapon.

No attorney was listed for him in the state’s online court database. The Bronx district attorney’s office did not respond to an email seeking comment Saturday.