Jerome Muhammad (September 14, 1967 – June 19, 2019), born Jerome Washington, better known by his stage name Shorty, was an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, producer, gang intervention

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fr ...

, and member of Ice Cube's spin-off Platinum hip hop group

Da Lench Mob Da Lench Mob was an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California, associated with Ice Cube. The group consisted of rappers Shorty, T-Bone, J-Dee, Maulkie, and Ice Cube. Their Islamic religious and social politically inspired-lyrics ga ...

Early life

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Shorty's mother Mabel Washington moved him and his older brother Jeff to Los Angeles CA in 1968. Jerome competed locally as a pop lock dancer with other friends in his neighborhood. The dance team put aside dancing in order to protect their neighborhood from rival groups and formed “Marvin Avenue Gangster Crips” in Los Angeles, CA of which Shorty an adolescent was a founding member of the street organization. The organization is named after Marvin Avenue, a street located West of Hauser Blvd, between Venice and Washington Blvd.

The Lench Mob (Posse)

After being convicted and serving three years in Corcoran state prison for robbing a Los Angeles police officer, Shorty was released on parole and returned to his neighborhood of West Los Angeles. The highly publicized acrimonious departure of

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be p ...

from the group

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is wide ...

. required him to recruit protection from threats from his former label. During this time Shorty's childhood friend and future bandmate, J-Dee (Dasean Cooper,) introduced Shorty to Ice Cube. Shorty's street reputation preceded him and Ice Cube hired Shorty the first day they met as a personal bodyguard and part of his existing growing entourage or posse called “The Lench Mob.” At this time ''The Lench Mob'' was not a recording group but included members such as Female Rapper

Yo-Yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two cylinder, disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a wikt:spool, spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 500 BCE. The yo-yo was also ca ...

, Producer Dj

Chilly Chill Derrick Baker, also known as Chilly Chill, is an American hip hop music producer who has worked for Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, Rick James, RBX, Ike Turner, Public Enemy, Kurupt, Jewel, Yo-Yo, WC, Korn, 7th Veil, Kool Keith, Da Len ...

, Producer

Sir Jinx Anthony Wheaton, professionally known by his stage name Sir Jinx, is an American hip hop producer and rapper from Los Angeles. He is a cousin of multi-platinum producer Dr. Dre. He began his career as a member of the C.I.A. in the mid-80s wit ...

, Rapper T-Bone,

Del the Funky Homosapien Teren Delvon Jones (born August 12, 1972), better known by his stage name Del the Funky Homosapien (sometimes stylized as Del tha Funkee Homosapien) or Sir DZL, is an American rapper. Music career 1988–1997: Early life and beginnings Born in O ...

K-Dee Darrell L. Johnson, also known as K-Dee, formerly Kid Disaster and D-Rock-D, (born May 24, 1969), is an American rapper most known for his album '' Ass, Gas, or Cash (No One Rides for Free)''. His first two singles were released under the nam ...

, Maulkie and others. In September 1990, Shorty and The Lench Mob posse clashed with Eazy E's hip hop act Above the Law during the annual

New Music Seminar The New Music Seminar (NMS) is a Music Conference and Festival held annually each June in New York City. The New Music Seminar originally ran from 1980 to 1995 and was relaunched in 2009. NMS features over 150 CEOs and other executives, presiden ...

conference at the

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

Marriott Marquis Marriott Marquis is a hotel brand owned by Marriott International and denotes flagship, large-format hotels similar to Hyatt's Hyatt Regency brand. Notable hotels using this branding include: * New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square, New York Ci ...

hotel. The parties agreed to fight in a bathroom, away from cameras but instead squared off in front of the convention crowd. Shorty threw the first punch at Above the Law's Total K-Oss, and J-Dee took on KMG the Illustrator. Actor LaDell Preston plays Jerome “Shorty” Muhammad in the critically acclaimed 2015 film “

Straight outta Compton ''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced ...

,” directed by

F. Gary Gray Felix Gary Gray (born July 17, 1969) is an American film director, film producer, and music video director. Gray began his career as a director on numerous critically acclaimed and award-winning music videos, including " It Was a Good Day" by I ...

where this altercation was dramatized.

Da Lench Mob (music recording group)

While on tour, members of rap group Public Enemy namely Professor Griff exposed Ice Cube, Shorty and The Lench Mob to Black history and social consciousness. In several interviews Shorty attributes his transformation from a life of crime to gang intervention by the teachings of The Honorable

Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an African American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah, who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1934 until his deat ...

while on tour with

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

. In 1991 Shorty joined the Nation of Islam in Los Angeles and changed his last name from Washington to Muhammad and married the same year. In 1992 Shorty collaborated creatively with longtime friend J-Dee, T-Bone, and Ice Cube to form a recording group bearing the name "Da Lench Mob." The debut album entitled “

Guerillas in tha Mist ''Guerillas in tha Mist'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Da Lench Mob, who originally appeared on Ice Cube's debut solo album, ''AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted''. The titular "Guerillas in tha Mist" was a hit at the release of the al ...

” was certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

on December 18, 1992, indicating US sales of over 1,000,000 units. After the breakup of the group Shorty appeared solo on multiple projects including

Coolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper. First rising to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio achieved mainstream success as a sol ...

's 2× platinum album

Gangsta's Paradise "Gangsta's Paradise" is a single by American rapper Coolio. Interpolating Stevie Wonder's 1976 song " Pastime Paradise", and featuring American singer L.V., the single was released on August 1, 1995. Certified Platinum in October, the song was ...

(

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

)

Health problems and death

Jerome Shorty Muhammad died on June 19, 2019, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

of kidney and liver failure. He was 51 years old. He is survived by 7 children, two grandchildren, his mother, one older brother and younger sister.

Legacy

A documentary film entitled “Comin’ up Short” produced by

, Steve Muhammad-EL and directed by

Queen Muhammad Ali Queen Muhammad Ali (Queen Melé Le'iato Tuiasosopo Muhammad Ali) is an American Samoan award-winning film director, photographer, graphic design artist, multimedia activist, lecturer, television producer, humanitarian, writer, visual anthropolog ...

and

Hakeem Khaaliq Hakeem Khaaliq (also Hakeem Abdul-Khaaliq) is an American cinematographer, television producer, film director, photographer, multi-media activist, graphic design artist, and visual anthropologist. Before his career in film and television he work ...

details Shorty's life in and out of the music industr

The film received a grant from ISF Scholarship fund and will be released posthumously

Many hip hop celebrities paid homage to Shorty after he died in 2019. *

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop du ...

"R.I.P. JEROME "SHORTY" MUHAMMAD of DA LENCH MOB)" *

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped crea ...

"While BET Awards is being broadcast A very touching Tribute to Shorty of The Lench Mob aka Bro Jerome Muhammad L I V E on HipHop 4 Justice radio show. Rest In Beats ..HipHop can do better by really acknowledging the contributors better". *

"Steady Mobbin'...RIP Shorty/Free JDee #AMWat30" *

Mack 10 Dedrick D'Mon Rolison (born August 9, 1971), better known by his stage name Mack 10, is an American rapper. He has sold nearly 11 million records combining his solo and group works. Mack 10 made his first appearance on Ice Cube's 1994 " Bootleg ...

* WC "From teenagers way back when to growing up becoming men. Luv you forever homie. Short Dog (Shorty) from Da Lench Mob. R.I.P."

Discography

Albums

Singles

Filmography

Films

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lench Mob Ice Cube Rappers from Los Angeles West Coast hip hop musicians 1990 establishments in California Rappers from Indiana Crips Hip hop activists 1967 births 2019 deaths American activists 20th-century American rappers 21st-century American rappers American record producers Deaths from kidney failure Deaths from liver failure