Frederick Thomas (February 22, 1985 – April 23, 2020), known as Fred the Godson, was an American DJ and rapper. He was the first high-profile

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

personality to have died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in April 2020; the early stages of the pandemic.

Early life

Frederick Thomas was born on February 22, 1985, and grew up in

The Bronx, New York City The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. He gained an early nickname of "Big Bronx". He started freestyling in the early 2000s.

Career

Thomas's music was characterized by his husky voice, humorous

wordplay Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phone ...

, and creative rhymes. In the early-2010s, he released two mixtapes; his debut was ''Armageddon'' in 2010, featuring samples of

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

and

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), known Mononym, mononymously as Cam'ron, is an American rapper. Beginning his career in the early 1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed with Lance Rivera, Lance "Un" Rivera's Lance Rivera, Untertainment, a ...

. His second release, ''City of God'', was one of a series for DJ Drama's Gangsta Grillz, and featuring

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother No Malice, Malice. M ...

and

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon ( ), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of the ...

. In 2011, '' XXL'' included him in its annual Freshman class of up-and-comers. Between 2011 and 2020, Thomas released music and performed regularly, guest DJ-ing on New York radio station based in Hudson

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund. WQHT's st ...

, and collaborated with artists including Pusha T,

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed w ...

, Cam'ron, and Raekwon, as well as releasing the

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

, "Monique's Room". He released two additional mixtapes in 2020, ''Training Day'' in January with

Jay Pharoah Jared Antonio Farrow (born October 14, 1987), better known by his stage name Jay Pharoah, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2010 to 2016. In 2015, he was ...

, and ''Payback'', released on March 20, 2020, which would be his last release before his death from COVID-19 one month later.

Personal life

Thomas was married to LeeAnn Jemmott; they had two daughters. Thomas was reported to be suffering from acute asthma and kidney problems, after contracting

during the early days of the pandemic, and by April 6, 2020, his fever had abated in hospital, according to his publicist and his

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account. His wife told media on April 9 that she was concerned he was going to die, but the next day, said he was "going to make it", and was being weaned from a

ventilator A ventilator is a type of breathing apparatus, a class of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathi ...

. Thomas died at

Montefiore Medical Center Montefiore Einstein Medical Center is an academic medical center that is the primary teaching hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York City. Its main campus, the Henry and Lucy Moses Division, is in the Norwo ...

on April 23, 2020, due to complications of COVID-19. He was 35.

Legacy

On February 22, 2021, what would've been his 36th birthday, Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. honored Fred by giving him his own street co-name on the block of his childhood home that he grew up in. Special appearances were made by

Sway Calloway Jonathan Ahmad Calloway (born July 3, 1971), known as Sway, is an American radio personality, journalist and former rapper known for hosting music, news, and culture programming. He was an on-air reporter and host for MTV News and occasional non- ...

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

, Jaquae, Mysonne and

Justina Valentine Justina Valentine is an American television host, rapper and singer from Passaic County, New Jersey, best known for her singles "Candy Land" featuring rapper Fetty Wap, "All The Way" and "Unbelievable". She is also known as a cast member on the ...

Discography

*''Armageddon'' (2010) *''City of God'' (2011) *''Gordo Frederico'' (2012) *''Contraband'' (2013) *''Fat Boy Fresh'' (2014) *''Contraband II'' (2016) *''Gordo'' (2017) *''Gorilla Glue'' (2019) (with

Joell Ortiz Joell Christopher Ortiz (born July 6, 1980) is an American rapper and former member of the group Slaughterhouse. Raised in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn's Cooper Park Houses, he first gained recognition after appearing in the Unsigned Hype colu ...

and

The Heatmakerz The Heatmakerz is the production brand for American music producer and writer Rsonist (Gregory Green). The Heatmakerz have been crafting the sound of New York since the early 2000s. Having worked with or influenced almost every artist in the city ...

) *''God Level'' (2019) *''Training Day'' (2020) (with

) *''Payback'' (2020) *''Ascension'' (2021) (posthumous)

References

External links

*
Obituary
on

N-TV n-tv (styled ntv) is a German free-to-air television news channel owned by RTL Deutschland. n-tv broadcasts news and weather every hour and half-hour in the morning. It also broadcasts magazine shows and documentaries. History n-tv began a ...

(in German)
Fred the Godson
on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fred the Godson 1985 births 2020 deaths DJs from New York City 21st-century African-American male rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers Rappers from the Bronx African-American DJs East Coast hip-hop musicians 21st-century American male musicians American hip-hop DJs Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state) 21st-century African-American musicians