Roger also appeared on songs by Johnny Gill, Keith Sweat, Eric Benet and H-Town amongst others. Dre-produced 1996 Tupac Shakur hit 'California Love'. Roger & Zapp are known for the distinctive synthesized sound produced by recording vocals through a Talk box fed by an electonic synthesizer.

The group recorded five albums as 'Zapp' & Roger recorded five others under his own name. Zapp is best known for its 1980 funk hit More Bounce to the Ounce (produced by Bootsy Collins). Most recognizable influence on their sound came from, original Parliament / Funkadelic vocalist, Raymon Davis. This band launched the career of Shirley Murdock and, in later years, employed keyboard stylings of Ohio Players' Billy Beck. Other members included: Bobby Glover, Eddie Barber, Jannetta Boyce, Jerome Derrickson, Sherman Fleetwood, Gregory Jackson & Michael Warren. Zapp (aka Zapp & Roger, Zapp and Roger, Zapp Band, Human Body, Roger & The Human Body & Zippy), was a soul & funk band, formed in 1978, by brothers: Roger Troutman, Larry Troutman, Lester Troutman & Terry Troutman. These compilations were released under the artist name Zapp & Roger. Two Warner-released best-of collections compiled Zapp and Roger's most popular songs: 'All The Greatest Hits' (1993) and 'Greatest Hits, Vol. By 1985's New Zapp IV U, the group had scored over four gold records and had become a top concert draw all around the world. Among the songs, only one of them - 1982's 'Dance Floor, Part 1' - managed to hit number-one on the R&B chart while two of Roger's solo numbers - a cover of Marvin Gaye's 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' and 'I Want to Be Your Man' - hit the top spot of that chart. Within five years, the band scored more top ten R&B hits such as 'Doo Wa Ditty', 'I Can Make You Dance', 'Heartbreaker', and ballads such as 'Computer Love (R&B #8)' and a cover of The Miracles' 'Ooo Baby Baby'. Roger and Zapp worked on both group albums and albums Roger released on his own merit. He and older brother Larry, who served as percussionist in the band's early years and later retired from music to serve as his younger brother's manager, often collaborated on songs together. Roger, who was the leader of the group and most famous for using the talk box in his recordings, was also the band's producer, chief writer, arranger, and composer. Zapp's trek to fame continued within the Troutmans, who started Troutman Enterprises shortly after the Zapp album was released. Released in the late summer of 1980, Zapp's seminal self-titled debut album became a platinum success peaking at the top twenty of the Billboard Top 200 thanks to the success of their leading single, the Roger composition, 'More Bounce to the Ounce', which reached number two on the Hot Soul Singles chart. Records, and began working on their first record at united sound in Detroit album courtesy of co-production from Bootsy Collins.

When that label folded the following year, the group signed with P-Funk's parent label, Warner Bros. Discovered by members of P-Funk in 1979, the funk collective's leader George Clinton signed them to his Uncle Jam Records. The name change to Zapp came courtesy of Terry, whose nickname was that of 'Zapp'. Larry was then the road manager and the leader of the group in terms of all major decisions and connections. Larry eventually joined his brothers when their name became Roger & The Human Body, which also included youngest brother Terry and Gregory Jackson (Cincinnati Ohio Funk Keyboardist). The duo of Lester and Roger started several groups including 'Lil' Roger And His Fabulous Vels. The nucleus of Zapp circled around three of the five Troutman brothers: Lester, Larry and their younger brother Roger.

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