RIP Gangsta Boo, RIP Lord Infamous, RIP Koopsta Knicca
It’s been two weeks since Gangsta Boo passed away and it still feels unreal to me. As a dedicated and long-time Three 6 fan going on 18 years now, it’s difficult to come to grips with the fact that half the members of Three 6 Mafia are now dead and gone. It’s just tragic that 3 out of the 6 members of one of the greatest rap groups of all time couldn’t live long enough to see their golden years. I really don’t want to see anymore of them go anytime soon. I felt immense pain when the King of Horrocore, Lord Infamous passed away in 2013 and my sadness lasts to this day. I was stunned and upset when Koopsta Knicca unexpectedly died in 2015. And now, I’m unfortunately mourning the premature death of the irreplaceable Gangsta Boo.
Gangsta Boo is a hip-hop legend and she will be remembered as the Queen of Memphis. She is one of the hardest rappers to come out of the city period, male or female. People tend to forget that Gangsta Boo was just a teenager when she was putting the rap game on notice with her lyrical skills. She became a member of Three 6 Mafia at the tender age of 14 and subsequently became an integral member of the group. Gangsta Boo brought wicked lyrics, sex appeal, and a unique female flavor that contributed greatly to Three 6 Mafia’s early success. In her underground days, she called herself The Devil’s Daughter and proceeded to lay down some of the most ominous horrorcore street lyrics in the Southern rap scene. There will simply never be another Gangsta Boo.
I first discovered Gangsta Boo in 2005 when I started listening to Three 6 Mafia’s vast catalog of songs which dates all the way back to 1991. The first Three 6 Mafia album that I listened to that heavily featured Gangsta Boo was The End. When I first heard her voice, I was immediately intrigued by her piercing vocals, her aggressive aura, and her saturnine, wicked lyrics that were delightfully sinister. I never thought about her gender even once because there was no reason to. I didn't care about it. Her talent spoke for itself. Gangsta Boo’s musical abilities were on full display on The End and she fit in perfectly with the atmosphere of dread that permeated the album.
Gangsta Boo was featured prominently on all of Three 6 Mafia's albums until she left after the release of the highly acclaimed When The Smoke Clears project. Even though Gangsta Boo never returned to being a full-time member of Three 6, she remained cool with DJ Paul, Juicy J, and Crunchy Black through the years and participated in the Da Mafia 6ix. They are all currently grieving her death in their own ways. But out of everyone in the Hypnotize Minds/Three 6 Mafia family, Gangsta Boo's premature demise is probably most painful for La Chat, Three 6 Mafia affiliate and fellow female Memphis emcee. Why? Because Gangsta Boo and La Chat were actually best friends. She and Gangsta Boo shared a unique bond as young female rappers from the streets of Memphis who rose to stardom in the mid-1990s and they remained extremely close for almost 30 years. I truly hope that La Chat will be able to cope with this tragedy because I am sure that it is immensely difficult for her.
There is no doubt that Gangsta Boo will be greatly missed by millions of Three 6 fans around the world and we will always appreciate her incredible contributions towards making Three 6 Mafia a legendary rap group. In my next post about Gangsta Boo, and in her memory, I will celebrate her career by listing 6 Three 6 Mafia songs that have verses of hers that I particularly enjoy. Please note that there are countless other verses of hers that I love that will not be on that very short list. Also, the songs will be listed in chronological order according to the year of release. RIP Gangsta Boo.
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