O.Y.G Redrum 781, a legend in West Coast gangsta rap, has died following a battle with bone cancer. The rapper was perhaps best known for co-creating, Bangin On Wax, a collaborative piece between the Bloods and the Crips which help ease tension between the gangs in 1993.
Redrum’s friend and collaborator Big Wy recently spoke about his impact, according to AllHipHop.
“He was a real prolific lyricist, a battle rapper and one of the best emcees to ever come out fo Los Angeles, he was famous for Bangin on Wax and Piru Love,” he said. “Him and Tweety Bird ended up creating something that it wasn’t intended to be, but it was real big, he was one of the ones responsible for getting that out. And he was just a real helpful and beautiful soul and anyone that needed anything he helped them do it free of charge. He will be missed, he’s one of our West Coast legends, Redrum.”
Redrum had signed to Death Row Records from 1993–1994.
“That was one of my best friends man, he’s the one that opened the door for me to rap professionally and he called me to be on Bangin on Wax,” Wy said. “He opened up the door for a lot other homies that ended up rapping and doing their thing. So we he was a really important person to the culture out here.”
Redrum was also a cousin of legendary West Coast rapper Kurupt, although the two had beef until later in their lives.
[Via]