Ricky Terrell Dunigan (November 17, 1973 – December 20, 2013), known professionally as Lord Infamous, was an American rapper from
Memphis,
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
. He was the half-brother of
DJ Paul and one of the co-founders of
Three 6 Mafia
Three 6 Mafia is an American hip-hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip-hop group, they went on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mystic Stylez'' became an influen ...
. His lyrics touched on macabre subjects such as
Satanism
Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious ...
,
mass murder
Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...
, and
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
, along with more traditional themes such as
sex
Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inheri ...
and
drug
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...
use.
Biography
1988–1991: Beginnings
Lord Infamous started his music career in the late 1980s with his half-brother, DJ Paul. They were fairly popular in the south Memphis area and released self-recorded tapes in their neighborhood, school, and local shops. Their first known tape entitled ''Portrait of a Serial Killa'', was released in 1992.
1991–2005: Three 6 Mafia
In 1991 Lord Infamous and DJ Paul met up with fellow north Memphis rapper and producer
Juicy J
Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, established ...
. These three along with a few other local rappers formed a group initially called "The Backyard Posse", which later went on to be known as "Triple 6 Mafia". The first record deal for the group was with Nick Scarfo and
Prophet Posse. Under the label they released their first underground album, ''Smoked Out, Loced Out'' in 1994. At the same time, Lord Infamous released his first underground solo album, ''Lord of Terror''. Shortly after in 1995, the group changed its name to Three 6 Mafia and released its debut album, ''
Mystic Stylez''. At this time Three 6 Mafia members DJ Paul and Juicy J were creating their own record company,
Hypnotize Minds, which Lord Infamous became a part of. The group went on to release four more mainstream albums and numerous solo projects through the mid-2000s, though during this time the group became smaller because of the departure of several members for various reasons.
2006–2013: Black Rain Entertainment
In 2006, following jail time which led to a breach of contract with
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
, Lord Infamous was forced to end work with Three 6 Mafia, leaving the group on good terms. Lord Infamous later reunited with
DJ Paul for Paul's 2009 solo album, ''
Scale-A-Ton''. This marked the first time they had worked together since
Three 6 Mafia
Three 6 Mafia is an American hip-hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip-hop group, they went on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mystic Stylez'' became an influen ...
's 2005 album ''
Choices II: The Setup''.
Soon after his departure from
Three 6 Mafia
Three 6 Mafia is an American hip-hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip-hop group, they went on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mystic Stylez'' became an influen ...
, Lord Infamous and long time friend and Memphis rapper II Tone formed a new record company, "Black Rain Entertainment". Shortly thereafter Memphis rapper Mac Montese and Atlanta rapper T-Rock became involved with the company, forming what is now known as "The Club House Click". They went on to release several group albums, solo albums and EPs, including several solo albums from Lord Infamous - ''The Man, The Myth, The Legacy'' in 2007, ''Futuristic Rowdy Bounty Hunter'' in 2010, ''Scarecrow Tha Terrible'' in 2011, ''Legendary Hits'', ''King Of Horrorcore'' and ''Back From Tha Dead (Deadly Proverbs)'' in 2012. A group album with The Club House Click entitled'' Land Of Da Lost'' was released on November 27, 2012. On February 11, 2013, Lord Infamous released his eighth solo effort entitled ''Scarecrow Tha Terrible, Pt. Two''. He released ''Voodoo, ''his final solo effort prior to his death, on October 11, 2013.
2013–2014: Da Mafia 6ix
In 2013, Lord Infamous rejoined four of the original Three 6 Mafia members to form the group Da Mafia 6ix. The group released their debut mixtape ''
6ix Commandments'' on November 12, 2013, with plans to release a studio album in 2014.
Lord Infamous was also featured in three songs after his death on Da Mafia 6ix's
Hear Sum Evil mixtape.
Death
On December 20, 2013, Lord Infamous died of a drug-induced heart attack in his sleep at his mother's home in Memphis, Tennessee.
DJ Paul confirmed his death to online hip hop magazine ''
HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...
'', stating: "He had a heart attack in his sleep. His mother found him dead this morning. He had been dead, the doctors say, for about five hours."
Discography
* Even Worse (1991)
* ''Lord of Terror'' (1993)
* ''The Man, The Myth, The Legacy'' (2007)
* '' Futuristic Rowdy Bounty Hunter '' (2010)
* ''Scarecrow Tha Terrible'' (2011)
* ''Legendary Hits'' (2012)
* '' King of Horrorcore '' (2012)
* ''Back From Tha Dead (Deadly Proverbs)'' (2012)
* ''Scarecrow Tha Terrible, Pt. Two'' (2013)
* ''Fire & Ice'' (2013)
* ''Voodoo'' (2013)
* ''Legend'' (2014)
* ''Anarchy (EP) '' (2016)
References
External links
Lord Infamous on VirbHypnotize Minds official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Infamous, Lord
1973 births
2013 deaths
African-American male rappers
21st-century American male rappers
Columbia Records artists
Horrorcore artists
Loud Records artists
Prophet Entertainment
Rappers from Memphis, Tennessee
Three 6 Mafia members