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Gangsta Boo (1979-2023): Dirty South legend
Photo: PRINCEWILLIAMS2016 / FilmMagic
She was one of the role models for current star rappers like Megan Thee Stallion or Cardi B: Gangsta Boo was already rapping aggressively about sex and power, money and drugs as a teenager in the 1990s.
With the group Three 6 Mafia, founded by her school friend DJ Paul, she was one of the pioneers of the »Dirty South«, the wave of Southern hip-hop that shook the scene upside down.
She later recorded solo records and rapped guest verses for prominent artists.
Lola Mitchell was born on August 7, 1979 in Memphis, Tennessee.
She started rapping when she was 14;
having three brothers helped her develop a confrontational style that caught the eye of her schoolmate, DJ Paul, at a talent show.
He had her rap on one of his mixtapes, which formed the basis for the nascent hip hop group Three 6 Mafia.
Under the name Gangsta Boo, she made an impression early on.
By the time the group's debut album, Mystic Stylez, was released in 1995, Gangsta Boo was already an integral part of the Three 6 Mafia.
The Three 6 Mafia around DJ Paul and Juicy J soon made a name for themselves under the genre term horrorcore. In the lyrics, the rappers outdid each other in descriptions of drugs and violence, and the music sounded suitably dark.
With their special rap flow (particularly rapper Lord Infamous's triplet), the Dirty South pioneers influenced trap, a hip-hop style that has been influential in recent years.
In 1998, Gangsta Boo released a solo album called Inquiring Minds, which reached number 46 on the Billboard album charts.
It features the track "Where dem Dollas at?", which became one of Boo's best-known tracks.
Among other things, it was about money when Gangsta Boo announced her departure from the Three 6 Mafia in 2001.
So she wasn't involved when the group won an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2006, nor can she be heard on their biggest hit parade in Germany, the 2010 track "Feel It" recorded with Dutch DJ Tiësto.
However, Gangsta Boo briefly reunited with some other Three 6 Mafia members in 2013 under the name Da Mafia 6x.
Rapper Lord Infamous died in 2013, and his colleague Koopsta Knicca in 2015.
Aside from her three solo albums, Gangsta Boo has appeared on and off as a guest rapper.
She has been featured on several Lil Jon and Gucci Mane tracks.
Collaboration with the duo Run The Jewels was particularly fruitful, she guested on Love Again (Akinyele Back), the second and Walking in the Snow, the fourth album of the critically acclaimed project.
Lola Mitchell called herself Lady Boo for religious reasons, but returned to the better-known pseudonym.
On New Year's Day, local broadcaster Fox13Memphis first reported the rapper's death, citing three unnamed sources.
Industry publication Variety received confirmation from a PR person who worked for Gangsta Boo.
Three 6 Mafia founder DJ Paul posted a photo on Instagram in honor of his former schoolmate and colleague.
The gossip website TMZ reports statements that the police will investigate the case because the death could be related to the opioid fentanyl.
So far, however, there is no official information about the cause of death.
Lola Mitchell was 43 years old.
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