Various news outlets are reporting that Minnesota rapper Eyedea has died at 28.
No details have emerged regarding his passing, beyond a Facebook confirmation from the emcee’s mother, asking for family privacy at this time. He would have turned 29 in less than a month.
Eyedea was well-known as a staple of Rhymesayers Entertainment, and as one half of the duo Eyedea & Abilities, with DJ Abilities. He also recorded albums under the name Oliver Hart and as part of the group Face Candy. Eyedea earned a reputation as one of the worlds premier freestylers. In 1999, at just 18, he won Scribble Jam. The following year he took home top honors at HBO’s Blaze Battle and at the Rocksteady Anniversary show. Afterwards, rumours circulated that Diddy was trying to sign the Minnesota native.
Speaking with HipHopDX’s Underground Report in February of 2008, Eyedea spoke on his creative pursuits in Hip Hop. “I think I was lucky in a lot of ways because I had people around me that were interested in putting out my music. I was ambitious. I was always into working hard, even when I was seven years old. So, I worked hard fast and I also loved music and art. So, the more you like something, the more you do it. The more you do it, the better you get at it. With the whole underground Hip Hop thing and the Internet…I don’t even know how to analyze the culture as far as how my voice actually got heard, [laughs] but, it did apparently.”
AD LOADING...
Last year, Eyedea released By The Throatwith Rhymesayers. The video to the single “Smile” is posted below:
More on this story as it develops.
Editor’s Note: Initial reports on HipHopDX claimed Eyedea to be 29 years old. He was 28 at the time of his reported death.
AD LOADING...
Click here to read HipHopDX’s editorial “Between The Lines: Remembering Eyedea.”
