Rapper Fatman Scoop died Friday night at the age of 53 after he collapsed during his performance at a free show at Hamden Town Center Park in Connecticut, CT Insider reported, citing his tour manager.
The New York-born artist, whose real name is Isaac Freeman III, was performing at the “Green and Gold Party” in Hamden when he experienced a “medical emergency.”
Social media footage showed a shirtless Scoop cheering up the crowd at the town centre park before he fell and disappeared from view of onlookers.
Video footage obtained by multiple outlets shows people performing chest compressions behind the screen of the DJ set.
His concert was scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m., but authorities were called to the park at 8:33 p.m. He was taken off stage on a stretcher and rushed to a nearby hospital, TMZ reports.
Meanwhile, Hamden Mayor Lauren Garrett confirmed that Scoop was taken to the hospital for a health issue.
“Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers,” Garrett wrote on Facebook.
The rapper was scheduled to perform at the event in July, but due to bad weather the date was moved to August.
Scoop’s 1990s club hit “Be Faithful” is his best-known work, garnering millions of views.
In October 2005, he featured on Missy Elliott’s song “Lose Control”, which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
Additionally, he has collaborated on songs with Timberland & Magoo, Nick Cannon, and Skrillex, and can be heard on Mariah Carey’s Grammy-nominated song “It’s Like That.”
The official music video for Dias Passo and Scoop’s new song, “Let It Go,” was released Friday morning.
Rapper Fatman Scoop dies: Tributes pour in
Freeman’s tour manager, DJ and producer Birch Michael, who was known as Pure Cold, announced his death on Facebook and Instagram on Saturday.
“With a very heavy heart I announce the passing of Isaac Freeman III, known professionally as Fatman Scoop,” Michael wrote.
“Honestly I don’t have the words to say it… You took me all over the world and performed with me on some of the biggest and greatest stages on the planet, the things you taught me truly made me the person I am today.”
Tributes to the rapper were also paid at the UK’s Reminisce Festival, where Freeman was scheduled to perform on September 7.
The event said on its Instagram and Facebook handles that “his absence will be deeply missed by all.”
He called him a “most popular artist” and a “beloved member of the Reminisce family.”
