Dear Malcolm,

Peace bro! Let me just prepare you, this letter is about to be full of shit you already know. But you didn’t hear ME say it, so just give me a few minutes.

You became part of my life right when I needed you…..I mean, being a pre-teen going into a teenager is already hell as it is. Being called a nerd or geek just because I loved reading, spoke proper and wore thrift clothes & Payless shoes to school. Girls and the cool kids didn’t really fuck with me until they got to know me, which very few did. Add in all of the challenges in my household with the coparenting situation, then the stepparent situation and everything weird that came with it, life was a whirlwind of confusion. So seeing a black boy a few years my senior on tv navigating the challenges of high expectations, being black in America, sidestepping negativity and trying to learn himself was just what I needed.

Listen bro, I’m super clear that Theo is a fraction of your story, and you are waaaay more than just that character. But what I want you to understand is that alot of actors could have played Theo….YOU BROUGHT HIM TO LIFE. We love Theo, but more than that we love that it was YOU making him real. You gave me the blueprint. I paid attention to how you interacted with your siblings, your parents, your friends, your girlfriends. You made me feel cool about choosing to do the right thing when the wrong thing was fun. You helped me understand that confidence shines far brighter and lasts longer than any trend can. And I carry that with me to this day. No one is overly romancing how great that moment in time is, if you were there, YOU KNOW. What’s understood doesn’t need to be explained.

Then I remember seeing you in Whodini’s “Funky Beat” video right when I began falling in love with hip hop. And just like that, you were further cemented in the culture. Once hip hop loves you, you are ours forever. Bruh you could do no wrong. Anytime MalJam was involved, it was official for me. THEN you fucked my head up by not only starring in New Edition’s “NE Heartbreak” video but directing it! One of my favorite videos by my favorite group of all time, and you had your hands on it. Bruh you just could not be stopped.

I have been on a crusade to make sure folks don’t overlook Malcolm & Eddie. I won’t have it. That show continued your display of navigating through the life of young men trying to get ahead, and having fun while doing it. Something I enjoyed after long days of college courses and part time jobs. You always involved yourself in projects that made me feel seen.

Not many people highlight your love for music and art expanded into poetry and jazz. How fitting for the coolest cat ever. Toured the world, inspiring our culture into your adulthood, standing on strong principles…..man you grew into everything we thought you would. Listing all of your accomplishments would take forever, and I’ve already exceeded the few minutes I asked you for LOL.

For us in our 40’s and 50’s, I think we can all agree on this: when it comes to icons for our generation growing up, at the top of all our lists are Malcolm Jamal Warner & Kadeem Hardison. In your artistry, y’all were cool, smart, confident, insecure at times, unsure of yourselves but never quitters, fly as fuck, and always BLACKITY BLACK BLACK. Never have you ever walked in a room and been invisible, something I wished for all of my youth. But here’s the thing: off set and in your real lives, y’all NEVER got caught up in no bullshit. Never has there ever been a weird or out of pocket news report, rumor, story or comment. Never a cast member retelling a negative experience with you on or off set. And I love that about you both. Did your work, elevated your craft, and stayed low. I stole that too lol.

Man I wish I could accurately express how my heart hurts finding out that we have lost you. I never met you, never been in the same room as you, nothing. But my heart is telling me my big brother is gone. As details come out about the circumstances that caused this, I tear up….thinking that you were doing something you probably did often…..thinking of you being frightened and alone as you fought to hold on……God, how I wish you’d chosen a safe pool instead of the unpredictable sea that morning. This world is worse off with you gone at such a young age. Gen X is SUFFERING right now, collectively. We are sounding like our parents did when their icons passed. Our kids don’t get it and are looking at us crazy. But we don’t care. Our hearts are BROKEN….for your family, for your friends, for your fans across the planet, and for each other. I saw a tweet that said “Malcolm is the type of person that would be welcomed at any Black household’s dinnertable, no questions asked” and I have never heard a more accurate statement regarding you.

In your last social media post, you said that “everyday, we should have SOMETHING that makes us smile…..and if we can’t, we should be the reason someone else smiles”. Still teaching us, all these years later. I promise to hold on to and live that as long as God allows me to.

Malcolm, brother, we love your soul. We will miss you tremendously. But I hope you know you live on in us through your influence, your effect on culture, and the principles you upheld. I wish you a peaceful journey brother. I thank God for sharing you with us.

Sending love and prayers of comfort to your family & loved ones.

Sorrowful but sincerely,

MGB