Magoo, best known for his work as one half of Timbaland & Magoo, is said to have died. He was only 50 years old.
Digital Black, of the Playa group, was the first to post a tribute on its Instagram page to the late rapper on Sunday (August 13).
“Man can’t believe this big RIP Magoo wasn’t ready at all for this #superfriends,” he wrote.
Check out the BlackBerry tribute below.
Genewine, too, seems to pay homage to the Norfolk, Virginia native (real name Melvin Barcliffe). “Times are tough but we keep pressing just heard some news and I hope it’s not true… I just want everyone to know that time is short love for the one you love and make sure they know that,” Written on Sunday (August 13)..
Originally formed in 1989, Timbaland & Magoo initially met when they were teenagers, and decided to form a rap group. Although best known for their single “Up Jumps Da Boogie,” the pair have released three albums and are perhaps best known for their work with Missy Elliott.
In 2021, Blackground Records and Empire Distribution teamed up to reissue the entire Timbaland & Magoo catalog, which also included Timb’s Tim Autobiography: Life from the Basement LP that initially dropped in 1998.
This distribution deal made it possible to release the catalog to streaming platforms, making it available to larger audiences for the first time since the group’s creation.
Magoo has also been far from a forgotten figure in hip-hop, receiving his flowers again in May 2020 (though at Timbaland’s expense, much to the latter’s chagrin).
One Twitter user totally shared her engagement to rapper partner Timbaland. With a snippet of the Virginia native’s verse from his 1997 hit “Luv 2 Luv U” with Tempo, the woman declared Magoo the absolute worst at wielding a microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen I present to you the worst rapper ever,” the woman wrote with a tearful emoji.
This immediately sparked a response from people who were around to watch the “Up Jumps Da Boogie” rapper make his debut, and soon noticed that his bars were practically elite compared to some of the music being released today.
“Correction: It was below average for the time,” the character Van Lathan wrote in response. “Looking back on that. We were lucky to have him. At least n-gga was actually rapping.”
Magoo’s cause of death has not been revealed, and neither his family nor Timbaland has issued an official statement.
HipHopDX He sends his condolences to Magu’s family and friends.
. “Professional creator. Lifelong thinker. Reader. Beer buff. Troublemaker. Evil problem solver.”