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Three 6 Mafia's Lord Infamous Dies at 40
The rapper, born Ricky Dunigan, passed away during a visit to his mother’s Memphis home, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“He passed away in his sleep from a heart attack,” his half-brother, Three 6 Mafia member DJ Paul, told the website. “He said he was tired, he wanted to sleep. He sat down at the kitchen table, put his head in his arms to lay down … to get some sleep.”
His mother left the house for several hours and found him dead upon her return. Paul was informed of his death by Infamous’ mother and girlfriend.
“He’ll be remembered as a legend, everybody knew him as a legend, an icon,” said DJ Paul. “This year was going to make our twenty-fourth year in rapping together. His music, our music that we made together, was truly before its time.”
His fellow Three 6 Mafia members sent their condolences. “R.I.P. lord Infamous,” tweeted Juicy J, while Gangsta Boo added, “Rest in Peace Lord Infamous please respect the family and dear friends during this traged. I will never forget the shows we rocked together . My heart is in pieces.”
Three 6 Mafia released albums including 1995’s Mystic Stylez and 2000’s When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1.
Five members of the group, excluding Juicy J, reunited under the name Da Mafia 6ix and released the mixtape 6ix Commandments in November and were preparing a new album in 2014.