Fatman Scoop, the rapper who worked with Timbaland, Missy Elliott and Mariah Carey, has died at 53. The cause of death is not yet known.
The Party King artist (born Isaac Freeman III) suffered a medical emergency during a performance on Friday night in Hamden, Connecticut and was transported via ambulance to a local hospital, according to a statement shared by Mayor Lauren Garrett.
Video shared by TMZ shows the rapper collapsing onstage around 8:30pm before people rushed over to administer CPR.
Scoop’s manager Michael Birch announced the artist’s death Saturday morning with a heartfelt tribute. “It is with the heaviest of hearts I announce the passing of Isaac Freeman III, Known professionally as Fatman Scoop,” he wrote in a statement. “You taught me how to be the Man I am today. I Love you Scoop, Thank you so much for everything you gave to me. Rest In Peace.”
Birch, who also performs as Pure Cold, added on Instagram, “I am honestly lost for words… You took me all over the world and had me performing alongside you on some of the biggest and greatest stages on this planet, the things you taught me have [truly] made me the man I am today. Thank you so much, I love you x.”
Born Aug. 6, 1971 in New York City, Freeman found success with his 1999 single ‘Be Faithful’ (featuring Crooklyn Clan), which later topped the UK and Ireland charts in 2003. He went on to mentor a group of British musicians the following year on the Channel 4 series Chancers.
He was known for his appearances on the 2005 singles ‘Lose Control’ by Missy Elliott and ‘It’s Like That’ by Mariah Carey. Most recently, Scoop collaborated with Tech N9ne on the single ‘No Popcorn’ that dropped in July.
Scoop also had a cameo as himself on a 2007 episode of the animated series The Boondocks, and he competed on Celebrity Big Brother 16: UK vs. USA in 2015.
