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, based on officers and his household.
The reason for the 53-year-old’s demise wasn’t instantly clear.
He was acting at Hamden City Heart Park in Connecticut, when he collapsed on Friday night (native time), city chief of employees Sean Grace mentioned 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 mentioned.
His household confirmed his passing in an announcement, posted on Instagram. It mentioned “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 assist, 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 mentioned, 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 america took off in Europe with a 2003 re-release, hitting No. 1 on the singles charts in the UK and Eire.
However Scoop — generally stylised as Fats Man Scoop or FatMan Scoop — was maybe greatest identified for his characteristic function on Elliott’s Lose Management, a 2005 tune 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 vitality” on X, previously generally known as Twitter, saying he had contributed to many songs that made folks joyful over greater than twenty years.
“Your IMPACT is HUGE & might be NEVER be forgotten,” she mentioned.
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 trade”.
His MN2S consultant, Sharron Elkabas, mentioned in an announcement she had spoken to him a couple of days earlier.
“He was in such good spirits. It is onerous to imagine he’s now not with us,” she mentioned.
