Rappers have paid tribute to pioneering performer Gangsta Boo (Picture: Getty Images North America)
Major names in the music industry have shared tributes for rapper Gangsta Boo following the Three 6 Mafia star’s ‘death aged 43’.
On Sunday evening it was reported the pioneering performer had died in Memphis, with collaborator DJ Paul sharing an image of the rapper – also known as Lola Mitchell – DJing, seemingly in tribute.
Under the image, messages from fellow rappers and stars came flooding in, with rapper 2 Chainz commenting: ‘Mannnn😢.’
Lil Jon added: ‘MAN WE WAS JUS TOGETHER 3 WEEKS AGO 🥲 REST WELL QUENN 🙏🏽.’
Ty Dolla $ign wrote on Twitter: ‘Long live my home girl Gangsta Boo 🖤🤞🏾 Queen of the M,’ while Questlove added: ‘….Gangsta Boo. rest in melody.’
Alongside tributes and an outpouring of grief on social media, local press Fox 13 reported that Mitchell was found dead Sunday afternoon around 4:30pm local time, confirming the news ‘with three independent sources’. At time of writing, Mitchell’s family or reps are yet to confirm her death.
She was known as a pioneering voice of hip-hop (Picture:: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Republic Records)
Mitchell was known as a pioneering voice in the rap industry, after she linked up with Three 6 Mafia’s founding members including Paul and Juicy J when she was just 15 years old in 1994, as one of the only female members (with rapper K-9 also appearing).
She featured on Three 6 Mafia’s first five studio albums, including 1995 debut Mystic Stylez, as well as Tear Da Club Up Thugs, and Choices: The Album.
Alongside the group, she also had a successful solo career, releasing her most well-known song, 1998’s Where Dem Dollas At?
Mitchell left the group in the early 2000s, releasing another solo album and several mixtapes.
The rapper also worked with the likes of Gucci Mane, Lil Jon, OutKast, T.I., and The Game, while also collaborating with Killer Mike and El-P in their hip-hop duo Run the Jewels.
Speaking to Billboard recently, Mitchell reflected on her legacy and impact on female hip hop, musing ‘respectfully and humbly’ that she was the ‘blueprint’.
She joined the group in the 90s while also releasing solo albums (Picture: Prince Williams/Wireimage)
She said: ‘I would honestly say that I have to admit, respectfully and humbly, that I am the blueprint. I hear my cadence in a lot of men and female rappers. It’s hard to f****** lie to myself and says, “Oh wow, she’s from New York but she raps like she’s from Memphis. Oh wow, this person is from f****** wherever, but they rap like they are from Memphis.” Because I’m not talking about anybody in particular, but my sound is a Memphis sound. It’s a Gangsta Boo sound, it’s a Three 6 Mafia sound. So, I am the blueprint and I wear that badge proudly as f***.’
Mitchell – who said she was busy working on new project The BooPrint – added: ‘I used to run away from it. I used to didn’t want to even give myself flowers because I’ve been so low-key and humble, but I’m on some f*** that s***. It’s time to claim what’s mine. I’m one of the main b******. And it feels fun to still be able to look good and be relevant in a place where I don’t have this million-dollar machine behind me and I have all my natural body parts, no shade to the ones that don’t.
‘But it just feels great to stand in yourself and look in the mirror and be like, “Wow, you did that.” And not sell your soul and go to bed at night with a smile on your face. Because I don’t have any pressure.’
Metro.co.uk contacted reps of Three 6 Mafia for comment.
She was a pioneering voice in hip-hop.
