Ricky T. Dunigan (November 17, 1973 – December 20, 2013), better known by his stage name Lord Infamous, was an American rapper from Memphis,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

. He was the half-brother of

DJ Paul Paul Duane Beauregard (born January 12, 1977), better known by his stage name DJ Paul, is an American DJ, record producer, and rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is a founding member of hip hop group Three 6 Mafia and uncle of the late rapper ...

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 would eventually go on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mystic Stylez'' ...

. His lyrics touched on macabre subjects such as Satanism,

mass murder Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The United States Congress defines mass killings as the killings of three or more p ...

, and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

, along with more traditional themes such as sex and

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhal ...

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 Hypnotize Minds is an American record label created by DJ Paul and Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia in 1997, in Memphis, Tennessee. The label serves as the successor to Three 6 Mafia's previous label, Prophet Entertainment, which was co-founded by DJ Paul ...

, 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 , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

, Lord Infamous was forced to end work with Three 6 Mafia, leaving the group on good terms. Lord Infamous later reunited with

for Paul's 2009 solo album, ''

Scale-A-Ton ''Scale-a-Ton'' (pronounced ''Skeleton'') is the second solo studio album by American rapper and record producer DJ Paul. It was released on May 5, 2009, via Scale-A-Ton Entertainment/ Hypnotize Minds. Recording sessions took place at Scale-A-Ton ...

''. This marked the first time they had worked together since

's 2005 album '' Choices II: The Setup''. Soon after his departure from

, 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 ''The Man, The Myth, The Legacy'' is the second album from rapper Lord Infamous, released on October 23, 2007. It was his first solo album in over a decade. Where Iz Da Love was widely thought to be a diss to Three 6 Mafia and more specifically D ...

'' in 2007, ''

Futuristic Rowdy Bounty Hunter Ricky T. Dunigan (November 17, 1973 – December 20, 2013), better known by his stage name Lord Infamous, was an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He was the half-brother of DJ Paul and one of the co-founders of Three 6 Mafia. His lyrics to ...

'' 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 Hear Sum Evil mix tape (2014).

Death

On December 20, 2013, Lord Infamous died of a heart attack in his sleep at his mother's home in Memphis, Tennessee.

confirmed his death to online hip hop magazine ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'', 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

* '' Lord of Terror'' (1994) * ''

'' (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 Virb

Hypnotize Minds official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Infamous, Lord 1973 births 2013 deaths African-American male rappers Columbia Records artists Horrorcore artists Loud Records artists Prophet Entertainment Rappers from Memphis, Tennessee Three 6 Mafia members