Hip Hop pioneer Jimmy “Super Rhymes” Spicer has lost his battle with cancer. According to veteran New York City promoter Van Silk, he passed away on Friday (September 27) afternoon.
The tributes have started to roll in on social media. Van shared his sentiments via Facebook.
“Jimmy was supposed to perform at the 46th Anniversary Of Hip Hip this past Saturday (September 21),” he wrote. “The last time we talked was in August, but I got a call from his daughter Angelina that her father will not be able to perform. Jimmy asked me to do him a favor.
“Please make sure that the rights to his song ‘Dollar Bill Y’all’ revert back to his family and I told him I will make the connection and put your family in touch!! We were able to have an award for him which will be presented to his family from last week event. EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN’T MAKE IT TO PERFORM, HE WAS THERE ANYWAY. MAY YOU SLEEP WELL MY BROTHER.”
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Spicer was diagnosed with advanced brain and lung cancer last year. Despite putting up a valiant fight, his condition took a drastic turn earlier this month. Kurtis Blow told HipHopDX Spicer had recently been moved to hospice care.
Subsequently, his daughter Janel launched a GoFundMe to help with medical and funeral costs.
Spicer was 61.
Many of his Hip Hop peers have expressed their condolences on social media, including Russell Simmons, Snoop Dogg, Questlove, MC Debbie D and Cozmo D from Newcleus.
[This story has been updated. The following was published on September 27, 2019 at 1:32 p.m. PST]
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Hip Hop pioneer Jimmy Spicer was diagnosed with stage 4 brain and lung cancer last year and he was fully prepared to fight it head on with the help of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. However, his daughter Janel has revealed he’s now nearing the end.
Subsequently, she’s launched a GoFundMe campaign in an effort to make him as comfortable as possible as his final days loom.
“His condition has taken a rapid turn, deteriorating to the point where we are now, with the end goal being to make his last days as comfortable and pain-free as possible,” Janel wrote in the campaign’s description. “My family and I have been spoiled by the tenacity and fight that my father has displayed during this past year.
“This unexpected and untimely decline has created an urgency that requires us to do all that we can to make his final days as peaceful as possible while respecting each of his last wishes.”
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Spicer’s impact on Hip Hop culture was profound. In 1980, he dropped “Adventures Of Super Rhymes,” one of the first Hip Hop songs on wax.
With his storytelling rhymes, he laid the foundation for MCs like Slick Rick and Dana Dane.
Janel, one of his five children, reminded people how integral he was to the culture, adding, “If you have ever loved Hip Hop or have ever sung along to ‘Dollar Bill Y’all’ or ‘The Bubble Bunch,’ or if you’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing my Father and being around his magnetic energy.
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“Whether he was rapping his 15-minute epic ‘The Adventures of Super Rhymes’ or dancing on the spot, whether you know him as Moppy from East New York, Super Rhyme, or Jimmy, we need your help.”
In an interview with HipHopDX last September, Spicer explained he was trying alternative forms of treatment as well as radiation.
“There’s a few holistic doctors here in New York but they don’t take insurance,” he said. “They take cash and carry, and my financial situation put me in the position where I had to start a GoFundMe. I’ve spoken to a few friends who have been cancer-free for 10 years and never took chemotherapy. They just did a regular diet and radiation therapy.”
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Evidently, those efforts were unsuccessful. Janel explained the funds raised would go to funeral and medical care costs.
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