By Zachary Corsa
Queen of Memphis and Memphis hip-hop icon Gangsta Boo passed away January 1st, 2023 at the age of forty-three. No cause of death has been released.
A pioneering female figure in Southern hip-hop, Boo was born Lola Chantrelle Mitchell in Memphis in 1979. She rose to prominence as a long-time member of the seminal horrorcore collective Three 6 Mafia, whom she joined at just fifteen years of age and remained a crucial member of until departing in 2001. As a solo artist, she scored a significant hit in 1998 with her single “Where Dem Dollas At?”, and would collaborate with the likes of Gucci Mane, Outkast, Lil Jon, E-40, T.I., and other rap luminaries throughout the 2000s.
Boo continued recording and performing throughout her life, and was working on a collaboration with Memphis producer Drumma Boy at the time of her death. As word of her passing has spread, numerous artists have paid tribute to Boo, including Ty Dollar $ign, Open Mike Eagle, Questlove, Missy Elliott, Juicy J, A-Trak, and EL-P. As Drumma Boy noted in his own post, “Gangsta Boo was like a sister to me and told the world about me the way my blood brother did. We both are Leos and share the same energy towards unity and seeing people happy! This is just such a devastating loss cuz she always wanted to see others win! RIP to the Queen of Memphis, forever my sister.”
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