This past week, the Hip Hop community was saddened in particular, the Bay Area to learn about the sudden passing of Timothy Jerome Parker aka the Gift of Gab who was one half of the duo, Blackalicious. His death came on the heels of the Bay Area losing another iconic figure, Shock G of Digital Underground. Within Hip Hop we saw the sudden passings of DMX, Black Rob, Ecstasy of Whodini, Prince Markie D, and MF Doom all within a 6-month span..
It was well known that Gab had long had health challenges that stemmed from him having a bad kidney. At one point he was on dialysis and would schedule his tours so he could go through the 6-8 hour daily procedure. Afterward, he would perform, oftentimes sitting in a chair. He was admired because night after night he would give it his all. He never disappointed his fans. He never complained. He would rhyme from his chair and flawlessly display his witty wordplay and rapid-fire style of rhyming coupled with insightful, socially uplifting lyrics. He was always deemed ‘your favorite rapper’s, favorite rapper‘… Gab was one of the best to bless the mic.
His mesmerizing emcee style was enhanced by the fact this gentle giant was incredibly generous, charismatic, and genuine. People all over cherished his friendship. When you hear the phrase ‘He was a real one’, that notion was personified by Gift of Gab.. Everyone in the Bay Area has a Gift of Gab story. Very few people have anything bad to say about him.. However, his sudden death sent shockwaves, primarily because Gab got a kidney transplant about a year ago and was on his way to be healthy. According to his close friends, he was concerned about the covid 19 pandemic and how the vaccines would affect him. Because he had a kidney transplant, his immune system was more vulnerable than most. Hence, he wound up staying indoors and took a lot of precautions.
Lateef the Truth Speaker who is part of the Quannum/ Blackalicious family had been doing a lot of outreach work to encourage people to get vaccinated. He had been getting local artists to have on-camera conversations with Black doctors who had been working with folks in many of the Black and underserved communities in Oakland and throughout the Bay Area. He was hoping to get Gift of Gab to be one of those artists to do a taping with the doctors. The day we had a conversation about doing this, was the day Gab passed away. Words cannot express how devastated so many of us are… may He Rest in Peace…
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