Fatman Scoop, the rapper who topped charts in Europe with Be Devoted within the early 2000s and later lent his voice to hits by different artists, has died after collapsing on stage at a present, in line with officers and his household.
The reason for the 53-year-old’s demise wasn’t instantly clear.
He was acting at Hamden City Middle Park in Connecticut, when he collapsed on Friday night (native time), city chief of workers Sean Grace stated on Saturday.
Mayor Lauren Garrett posted on Fb that he had a medical emergency. Concertgoers and paramedics tried to assist the artist, who was taken to a hospital, she stated.
His household confirmed his passing in a press release, posted on Instagram. It stated “the world misplaced a radiant soul, a beacon on stage and in life” who was “legendary and iconic”.
Fatman Scoop was a mainstay of membership playlists across the flip of the millennium.
His household cherished him as “the laughter in our lives, a continuing supply of help, unwavering energy and braveness”.
“His music made us dance and embrace life with positivity. His pleasure was infectious and the generosity he prolonged to all might be deeply missed however by no means forgotten,” they stated, including he leaves a legacy “of affection and brightness”.
Born Isaac Freeman III, Fatman Scoop was from New York Metropolis’s Harlem neighbourhood and broke out with 1999’s Be Devoted.
What began as a minor success in the USA took off in Europe with a 2003 re-release, hitting No. 1 on the singles charts in the UK and Eire.
However Scoop — typically stylised as Fats Man Scoop or FatMan Scoop — was maybe finest identified for his function function on Elliott’s Lose Management, a 2005 music that additionally featured Ciara. The observe received a short-form music video Grammy on the 2006 award present.
Fatman Scoop pictured arriving at an awards present in 2008. His household confirmed his demise, aged 53. Supply: AAP / Chris Pizzello/AP
He additionally was featured on tracks from Timbaland, David Guetta, The State of affairs and Skrillex, amongst different artists. In 2018, he reunited with Elliott and Ciara for a remix of the latter’s Degree Up.
Elliott praised Scoop’s “VOICE and power” on X, previously often called Twitter, saying he had contributed to many songs that made folks blissful over greater than 20 years.
“Your IMPACT is HUGE & might be NEVER be forgotten,” she stated.
His longtime reserving company, MN2S, described him as an artist with “boundless enthusiasm”, a ardour for music and a voice and persona that “made an indelible mark on the business”.
His MN2S consultant, Sharron Elkabas, stated in a press release she had spoken to him a number of days earlier.
“He was in such good spirits. It is onerous to imagine he’s not with us,” she stated.
