Robert Alan Diaz (September 17, 1975 – June 9, 2015) known by his stage name Pumpkinhead or P.H., was an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

and

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- ...

artist. He grew up in the

Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in South Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park and Eighth Avenue (Brooklyn), Prospect Park West to the east, ...

area of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

with his mother and younger sister.

Music career

Pumpkinhead started writing rap lyrics at age 10 during his 6th grade language arts class after hearing the song "Nightmares" by Dana Dane. He also stated he was influenced by Redman and the Leaders of the New School, as well as Doug E. Fresh. He also cites his experience of meeting

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

and witnessing his ability to write and record songs on the spot as a motivating factor in his emceeing. Pumpkinhead got a break in New York City hip hop when a friend of his gave a demo tape to Bobbito Garcia of the ''Stretch & Bobbito Show'' on WKCR. Pumpkinhead's breakthrough single was 1997's "Dynamic," which became a staple of

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

s in the late 1990s. The World Famous Beat Junkies featured the remix—featuring guest appearances by Poka Face, Meat Pie, Ocean, What? What?, CES, DCQ and The Bad Seed—on their second mix CD, ''The World Famous Beat Junkies, Vol. 2'' in 1998. Pumpkinhead has been a guest on several hip hop albums by other artists. He appears on

Immortal Technique Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), known artistically as Immortal Technique, is an American rapper, activist and songwriter. His lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as politics, religion, institutional racism, and govern ...

's '' Revolutionary Vol. 1'' (2001) and '' Revolutionary Vol. 2'' (2003). He guest starred on Jean Grae's 2003 EP '' The Bootleg of the Bootleg'', appearing on the track "Code Red" with Block McCloud. In 2013 he appeared on the track "Welcome To The Show" alongside Long Island emcees the Lab Ratz (Dave Z and Lantz). In 2009, he started going by PH and released ''My Era (No Skinny Jeans Allowed)'', a mixtape remixing several 90's classics.

Death

Pumpkinhead died on June 9, 2015, in a New Jersey hospital, while waiting to undergo a gall stone surgery. The cause of death has not been disclosed. Multiple artists offered their condolences on social media.

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

wrote on

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 ...

"To lose such a great human being so early in his life, man. No words...There is a fraternity of artists who were around for all of this. PH inspired us all. He will live on through us even though his physical presence will be missed. RIP Robert Diaz".

wrote on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

" Rest in Power my old friend. Life is too short. #Pumpkinhead #PH #RobertDiazRIP", while

Brother Ali Ali Douglas Newman (born Jason Douglas Newman, July 30, 1977), better known by his stage name Brother Ali, is an American rapper, community activist, and member of the Rhymesayers Entertainment hip hop collective. He has released nine albums, ...

wrote "Heartbroken to learn about the great Pumpkinhead transitioning from his life. Incredible MC and precious soul. Loved, Honored & Remembered." A street in Park Slope, Brooklyn, was named in his honor.

Discography

Albums

* '' The Old Testament'' (2001) Label: Makin' Records * '' Orange Moon Over Brooklyn'' (2005) Label: Soulspazm (

Rawkus Rawkus Records (or Rawkus Entertainment) is an American hip hop record label, owned by James Murdoch, known for starting the careers of many rappers. Rawkus started in 1995 with releases in hip-hop, drum and bass and fun-dustrial (Dystopia One) ...

- 2006 re-release) * ''Picture That: The Negative'' (2008) Label: MCMI * ''Know the Ledge'' as PH (2011) Label: MCMI

EPs

* '' Beautiful Mind'' (2003) Label: Third Earth Music * ''This is Not a Tyler Perry Movie'' as PH (2014) Label: MCMI

Mixtapes

* ''Gang Green: The Plague MixCD Vol. 1'' as part of The Plague (2002) * ''Time Chronicles'' (2004) * ''Time Chronicles 2'' (2004) * ''Kill Music: Vol. 1'' (2004) * "Kill Music: Vol. 2" (?) * ''28 Tracks Later: The Plague MixCD Vol. 2'' as part of the Plague (2004) * ''Border Blockerz Part 1'' (2007) * ''#SleezbagMekalekTape'' (2016) (released posthumously)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pumpkinhead 1975 births 2015 deaths Rappers from Brooklyn East Coast hip-hop musicians American musicians of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American rappers Underground rappers