As 2023 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on the hip-hop artists we lost in the calendar year.
The year started off on a sour note, with news that Three 6 Mafia member Gangsta Boo was found dead in a Memphis, Tenn. home on New Year’s Day. Her cause of death was later reveled to be an accidental overdose on a mixture of cocaine, Fentanyl and alcohol. As the first female member of the storied Memphis rap group, Gangsta Boo was one Southern hip-hop’s most veteran rhymers. Sadly, Gangsta Boo is the third member of the Three 6 Miafa to have passed away. Lord Infamous, born Ricky T. Dunigan, died in 2013 and Koopsta Knicca, born Robert Phillips, passed in 2015.
The following month, in February, Trugoy The Dove of De La Soul passed away at the age of 54 following a battle with congestive heart failure. As part of De La Soul, Trugoy released critically acclaimed albums 3 Feet High and Rising, in 1989, 1991’s De La Soul Is Dead, 1993’s Buhloone Mindstate and 1996’s Stakes Is High. His death came on the heels of De La Soul being represented in the 2023 Grammys’ tribute to 50 years of hip-hop performance.
Virginia rapper Magoo, of the duo Timbaland and Magoo, died in August. He was 50 years old. Magoo rose to fame in the late 1990s after the duo released their debut platinum album Welcome to Our World in 1997. The LP contains the gold single “Up Jumps Da Boogie” featuring Missy Elliott and Aaliyah. Timbo and Magoo released two follow-up albums, 2001’s Indecent Proposal and 2003’s Under Construction Part 2. In 2007, Magoo appeared on the track “Boardmeeting” from Timbaland’s Shock Value album before putting down the mic. He reportedly succumbed to a heart attack.
See a look back on the hip-hop artists we lost in 2023 below.
R.I.P.
