„This hurts, fuck. It’s obvious how much you influenced my music but the fact you always told me I was the one, after being around the guys, gave me hope and belief. I’m so sorry, wish we did more. Time is our only currency. Rest peacefully Queen, Gangsta Boo“
Skepta via his Instagram story
Hip hop music just lost a true originator as Three 6 Mafia and fans around the globe are mourning the death of Gangsta Boo,one of Memphis’ most influential rap legends, who died of unknown reasons on January 1st at just 42 years old.
The pioneer leaves behind a legacy which, even though not always tangible at first sight, reaches all over recent Billboard charts and can also be felt through obituary posts by everyone from Outkast’s Big Boi to DJ Premier, Missy Elliott, Freddie Gibbs, a ton of fans and Gangsta Boo‘s Hypnotize Minds companions.
The rapper born Lola Mitchell first made noise when she joined forces with fellow Memphis rap collective Triple Three Six Mafia in the mid 90s alongside DJ Paul, Juicy J, Lord Infamous, Crunchy Black and Koopsta Knicca. The group‘s gloomy horrorcore soundscapes, a fondness for satanic references, and especially their characteristic staccato flow not only gained them a cult-following and eventual mainstream success surrounding their extended Hypnotize Minds camp.
Three 6 Mafia also heavily influenced some of the biggest names in 2010s’ rap music. Just ask A$AP Rocky, Denzel Curry or the Migos about what inspired their flows or their raw sound. It’s safe to say Three 6 Mafia walked so that people could run, but they also kind of made people run – and Gangsta Boo was one of the best at it, oftentimes delivering the most menacing bars on tracks already not poor of disturbing punchlines by her comrades.
Gangsta Boo‘s classic debut album “Enquiring Minds” from 1998 further cemented her status as an outstanding rapper, and so did show-stopping verses on every 90s album by the group and a dozen projects over the last two decades. To say this didn’t go unnoticed outside of Memphis is an understatement. If features on tracks by Outkast, Run The Jewels and others didn’t make that evident, constant hymns of praise by fans and fellow artists did – amongst them Skepta and a lof of current chart-topping female rappers who inherited the confident, explicit and undeniable Southern style that Gangsta Boo originated.
Megan Thee Stallion might have said it best: “There is no Megan Thee Stallion without Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, Trina, Gangsta Boo, Missy Elliott, Lil Kim, Eve, and so many others.”
R.I.P. Gangsta Boo. Thank you for the music.
