On Friday, Zuri Craig (The Color Purple Audio Experience: A Benefit for Black Womxn, The Mo’Nique Show), 44, died. Craig was a vocalist on season 10 of America’s Got Talent (AGT). As of Sunday, a cause of death has not yet been disclosed.
The Instagram post was swarmed with condolences and well-wishes for the Craig family, including Y’Anna Crawley (Coming 2 America, A Question of Faith) and TV personality James Wright Chanel (Kevin Hart: What Now?, The Business of Christmas), who left behind red heart emojis in the comment section. Le’Andria Johnson (Greenleaf, Joyful Noise), a gospel singer, shared a personal tribute to Craig, followed with a photo of the two, captioning, “R.I.P. my love 😢💜 @craigzuri,” according to ET.
Craig was one-half of a singing pair based in Atlanta called The CraigLewis Band. The other half of the band was Jeffrey Lewis. The CraigLewis Band competed in a talent show, AGT, in 2015 where they conclusively placed fifth overall in the competition. The pair wowed their audience after crooning “This is a Man’s World,” by James Brown. They received a gold buzzer from Michael Bublé after their outstanding performance of their own rendition of “I’m Goin’ Down,” by Mary J. Blige, according to TV Line.
Craig was also in a few of Tyler Perry’s projects, before making his appearance on national TV. Craig was apart of Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family, A Madea Christmas, and Madea Gets a Job. Craig also worked on a web series recently titled Black Hollywood Atlanta, in which the producer(s) put out a casting call the previous year, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Craig also worked on podcasts and other theatrical productions over the years and was in the process of producing a stage play titled Soul Food in Atlanta next month.