Corey Lamar Tanksley

Corey Lamar Tanksley was born June 28, 1971 in Rochester, NY to Velma Tanksley and Lawrance Campbell. As a teenager, he would literally spend hours reading the Webster's Dictionary. The time he spent studying words came in handy when he decided to become a rapper in 1985. Corey was a graduate of Edison Technical High school and obtained his Bachelor's Degree in English/Creative Writing from The College at Brockport. He was a McNair Scholar as well as a member of the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers). Corey was always fascinated by words. He left college to in 1992 to pursue a full-time career in Hip Hop. In 1994, he was offered a recording contract by a subsidiary of Warner Brother Dreams. After becoming fed-up with the fundamental changes that Hip Hop music underwent in the 2000's, he decided to go back to school in 2007 to get his degree. He focused on developing his skills as a writer. He wanted to extend and push himself to obtain the skills necessary in order to write on a world class level, no matter the medium. Corey wrote articles for Tocsin Magazine and the Minority Reporter. One of his greatest accomplishments was publishing along with his partner and best friend, Lawrance Evans, two books: "B-Boy to Man-Freshman" and "B-Boy to Man-Sophomore". Together, he and Evans were the writing duo collectively known as 'The SilverBacc Brothers'. He was the founder and creator of the Rochester Black Author Expo. Corey raised three beautiful young ladies, Cairo, Cadeeja and Cierra. They were without question his motivating factor to become the best human possible. Along with his three girls, he had a deep love for serving the community. This was cultivated by his involvement with Doology coined by his god-father, Minister Lawrance Evans. This school of thought says instead of sitting around complaining about the world, you go out and try to fix it. Corey had a love for great movies, old school hip hop, classic television shows, playing basketball, poker and of course watching his Dallas Cowboys play. His true passion was networking with individuals in the community. Corey is survived by his parents, Velma Tanksley and Lawrence Campbell; three daughters Cairo, Cadeeja and Cierra; siblings: John, Kim, Tarra, Nicole, Andre, Justin; god-sister Katrina; god-brother to the Evans siblings; and a host of uncles, aunts and cousins to mourn his passing.