Three 6 Mafia co-founder Lord Infamous dies aged 40 | Hip-hop

Three 6 Mafia co-founder Lord Infamous died on the night of 20 December, aged 40, it has been reported. The musician, born Ricky Dunigan, was reportedly found by his mother at her home in Memphis on Friday night. While the official cause of death has not yet been confirmed, his half-brother DJ Paul told Rolling

Hip-hop This article is more than 10 years old

Three 6 Mafia co-founder Lord Infamous dies aged 40

This article is more than 10 years oldRapper, born Ricky Dunigan, reportedly found dead at his mother's home in Memphis following a heart attack

Three 6 Mafia co-founder Lord Infamous died on the night of 20 December, aged 40, it has been reported.

The musician, born Ricky Dunigan, was reportedly found by his mother at her home in Memphis on Friday night. While the official cause of death has not yet been confirmed, his half-brother DJ Paul told Rolling Stone that he died in his sleep following a heart attack: "He was at home sitting at the table and he just lay his head down and he just left us." Dunigan had previously suffered a stroke and heart attack in 2010.

News of the rapper's death began to circulate on 21 December, when with members of the group sent tweets in tribute to the rapper. Three 6 member Gangsta Boo broke the news, tweeting: 'Rest in Peace Lord Infamous please respect the family and dear friends during this tragedy.' Juicy J tweeted soon after stating: 'RIP lord Infamous' and 'Thx you for your prayers, I'm very hurt, can't believe it's true.'

Lord Infamous began his career in the early 1990s alongside his brother and Juicy J in Three 6 Mafia, formerly called Backyard Posse. Later joined by Koopsta Knicca, Crunchy Black and Gangsta Boo, they released their first album, Mystic Stylez, in 1995. In 2006 – at this stage without Lord Infamous – the group went on to become the first rap group to win an Oscar in 2006 for best original song for the track It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp, taken from the film Hustle & Flow. Dunigan went on to set up Black Rain Entertainment with fellow Memphis rapper II Tone, and rejoined four of the original Three 6 Mafia members this year to set up Da Mafia 6ix. Their mixtape, 6ix Commandments, was released in November. Their debut album was scheduled for March 2014.

"He'll be remembered as a legend, everybody knew him as a legend, an icon," DJ Paul told the Hollywood Reporter. "This year was going to make our 24th year rapping together. His music, our music that we made together, was truly before its time."

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaKWlqLake5FpaGxnlJqwcH6SaKOoqpRitq%2BywKamrqtdqbWzscRmbWalkZu2onnCqGSfp6Wjsaa%2BjJ2cmpw%3D

 Share!