Three 6 Mafia founding member Lord Infamous has died aged 40, it has been revealed.
The rapper, real name Ricky Dunigan, died in his sleep last Friday (December 20) after suffering a heart attack at his mother’s house in Memphis. According to Rolling Stone, his bandmate DJ Paul revealed that although Dunigan had not been ill recently, he had suffered a stroke and heart attack in 2010.
“He was at home sitting at the table and he just lay his head down and he just left us,” said Paul. “He was a legend in the game, truly ahead of his time. He was such a great lyricist and he always came with these different styles in his rap and his flow.
“Lord Infamous was the kind of person that never cared about having a lot of money or this or that. He just liked to make music, he liked to rap, and he liked to make people happy.”
Dunigan, Paul and fellow bandmate Juicy J formed Three 6 Mafia in 1991 and released their debut album ‘Mystic Stylez’ in 1995. They went on to release a slew of studio albums and also became the first rap collective to win an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2005 with their track ‘It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp’ from the film Hustle And Flow.
According to DJ Paul, the rapper had been working with various members of the group under the moniker Da Mafia 6ix on a new album. It is due for release in March 2014.