Sean Duval Price (March 17, 1972August 8, 2015) was an American rapper and member of the
hip hop collective
Boot Camp Clik.
He was one half of the duo
Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruck, along with partner Rock.
Early life and education
Growing up in the borough of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, Price was a member of the
Decepticons
The Decepticons are the main antagonists in the fictional continuities of the '' Transformers'' multimedia franchise. They are depicted as a faction of sentient robotic lifeforms led by Megatron, identified by a purple face-like insignia. Capa ...
in high school.
Career
A member of the underground hip hop collective
Boot Camp Clik, Price first appeared on
Smif-N-Wessun's 1995 album ''
Dah Shinin'
''Dah Shinin is the debut studio album by American East Coast hip hop duo Smif-N-Wessun. It was released on January 10, 1995 via Wreck/Nervous Records. Recording sessions took place at D&D Studios in New York City. Production was handled by Da B ...
''. He would soon resurface in 1996 as one half of the critically acclaimed Brooklyn duo
Heltah Skeltah, who released their debut album ''
Nocturnal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
'' on
Duck Down Records
Duck Down Music Inc is a New York City based record label, talent management, music-marketing, and consulting company founded by Drew "Dru-Ha" Friedman and Kenyatta "Buckshot" Blake in 1995. In Duck Down's 20-year existence, the Company has rele ...
that year. Heltah Skeltah would go on to release two more albums: 1998's ''
Magnum Force'' and 2008's ''
D.I.R.T.''.
In the 2000s, Price established himself as a strong force in the underground hip hop community. He was featured on Grand Theft Auto 3's GAME FM radio station in 2001. In 2005, Price released his first solo album ''
Monkey Barz'', to critical acclaim. He followed this in 2007 with ''
Jesus Price Supastar'' and ''
Mic Tyson'' in 2012.
Price was interviewed on the online series ''Grand Angel TV'' in 2008 and 2010, with
Paid Dues performance footage alongside Boot Camp Clik and
Dru Ha, respectively.
In 2011, Price was a judge on the ''Ultimate MC'' TV show alongside
Royce da 5'9",
Organik,
Planet Asia, and
Pharoahe Monch. Also in 2011, he formed the group
Random Axe with
Guilty Simpson and producer
Black Milk
Curtis Eugene Cross (born August 14, 1983), better known by his stage name Black Milk, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer.
Career
In addition to Slum Village, Black Milk has worked with J Dilla, Elzhi, Phat Kat, Frank-N-Dan ...
.
He had a planned collaborative album with rapper
Ill Bill in the works, called ''The Pill''. ''Songs in the Key of Price'', a mixtape recorded before Price's death, was released posthumously on August 21, 2015. The posthumous release of his fourth studio album, ''
Imperius Rex'', followed in August 2017.
Death
On August 8, 2015, Price died at the age of 43. Details were not immediately available, but a statement from his reps confirmed his death, while adding that he died in his sleep.
"It is with beyond a heavy heart that Duck Down Music is sadly confirming that Sean Price passed away early this morning in his Brooklyn apartment, Saturday, August 8th, 2015," read the statement. "The cause of death is currently unknown, but it was reported that he died in his sleep. He's survived by his three children."
Personal life
Price was a cousin of
Roc-A-Fella Records
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994.
History
1994–2000: Formation ...
rapper
Memphis Bleek
Malik Deshawn Cox (born June 23, 1978), known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper who was a protégé of fellow New York rapper Jay-Z. Cox started his own labels: Get Low Records in 1998, and Warehouse Music Group in 2016. He ...
and actor
Michael K. Williams. He was also close friends with actor
Ryan Phillippe.
Price lived in
Brownsville, Brooklyn. He was a
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, having converted in 2009.
Discography
Studio albums
*''
Monkey Barz'' (2005)
*''
Jesus Price Supastar'' (2007)
*''
Mic Tyson'' (2012)
*''
Imperius Rex'' (2017)
References
External links
Duck Down Records website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Sean
1972 births
2015 deaths
African-American Muslims
African-American male rappers
Boot Camp Clik members
Converts to Islam
East Coast hip hop musicians
Hardcore hip hop artists
People from Brownsville, Brooklyn
Rappers from Brooklyn
Underground rappers
The Fab 5 members
Rappers from New York City