Roger was deeply ingrained in the band's success, as the producer, writer, arranger, and composer of numerous creative songs, per the Zapp official website. He had a passion for using a talkbox to give Zapp's songs a fresh and unique sound. The band began touring the country, and continued to produce funk hits like "Doo Wa Ditty" and "Computer Love."
Their covers were also popular, like "I Heard it Through the Grape Vine," and "Dance Floor Part 1," which also held spots at the top of the music charts in the mid-1980s. SF Weekly reports that Zapp's music even influenced kids who later became musicians themselves — Ice Cube said Zapp's "More Bounce to the Ounce" was the first hip-hop song he had ever heard.
Even decades later, the exact circumstances of what happened between two of the Troutman brothers is largely unknown. Dayton.com reports that on a Sunday morning in April 1999, around 7:20 a.m., police were called to find Roger Troutman dead in an alleyway. He appeared to have been shot numerous times. SF Weekly reports that eyewitnesses said Roger, who was sitting in the passenger seat of a black sedan, tried to get out but the driver shot him multiple times and left the scene. Roger had been shot twice in the front of his torso, and twice in the back.
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