Sean Price

• 1. Introduction

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  Sean Price, born Sean Duval Price on the 17th of March 1972, spent decades building a name in underground hip-hop. Then, one Saturday morning in 2015, his label announced that he had died in his Brooklyn apartment. Price built that reputation under crews and aliases as often as under his own name. What name did fans first know him by, years before Sean Price became the one on the marquee? How does a Brooklyn kid from a high school clique end up on one of the defining underground rap albums of the 1990s? And what projects did his death leave unfinished?

• 2. Boot Camp And Ruck

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  Growing up in the borough of Brooklyn, Price ran with a high school clique called the Decepticons. He later joined the underground hip-hop collective Boot Camp Clik. His first appearance on record came in 1995, on Smif-N-Wessun's album Dah Shinin'.

  In 1996, Price resurfaced as one half of Heltah Skeltah, a Brooklyn duo, performing under the name Ruck alongside his partner, Rock. The duo's debut album, Nocturnal, arrived that year on Duck Down Records to critical acclaim. Heltah Skeltah released two more albums together: Magnum Force in 1998 and D.I.R.T. in 2008.

  By the 2000s, the artist behind those names would step out from the group, releasing music under his own name instead.

• 3. Solo Reputation

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  In 2001, players moving through Grand Theft Auto 3 could hear Price's voice on the game's GAME FM radio station. That placement came as he was becoming a dependable force within the underground hip-hop scene through the 2000s.

  In 2005, Price released his debut solo album, Monkey Barz, which met with critical acclaim. He followed it in 2007 with Jesus Price Supastar, then in 2012 with Mic Tyson.

  Off record, Price was also becoming a fixture in front of cameras. He sat for interviews and judged a competition built around the culture he had spent over a decade inside.

• 4. Television And New Crews

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  In 2008, the online series Grand Angel TV sat Price down for an interview. It was paired with Paid Dues festival footage of him performing alongside Boot Camp Clik. He returned to the same series in 2010 for a second interview, this time paired with footage of him performing alongside Dru Ha.

  In 2011, Price sat as a judge on the television show Ultimate MC, alongside Royce da 5'9", Organik, Planet Asia, and Pharoahe Monch. That same year, he formed the group Random Axe together with rapper Guilty Simpson and producer Black Milk.

  Those same collaborators and crews were bound up with ties that ran through Price's own family, well beyond the recording booth.

• 5. Family And Faith

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  Price was a cousin of Roc-A-Fella Records rapper Memphis Bleek and of actor Michael K. Williams. He also counted actor Ryan Phillippe among his close friends.

  Price lived in Brownsville, a neighborhood within Brooklyn. He was a Muslim, having converted to the faith in 2009.

  That conversion carried him through the final years of a career that was about to be cut short.

• 6. Death

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  On the 8th of August 2015, Price died at the age of 43. Duck Down Music, his label, confirmed the death in a statement.

  "The cause of death is currently unknown, but it was reported that he died in his sleep," the statement read. "He's survived by his three children."

  Among the work he left unfinished was a planned collaborative album with rapper Ill Bill, called The Pill.

• 7. After His Death

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  On the 21st of August 2015, less than two weeks after his death, the mixtape Songs in the Key of Price reached fans. Price had recorded it before he died.

  In 2016, fellow rapper Bruse Wane released the song "Venom," featuring one of Price's guest verses alongside Chris Rivers, the son of Big Pun. DJ Premier posted the track on his own website, Premier Wuz Here, and called Price's appearance "likely his last guest verse."

  Price's fourth studio album, Imperius Rex, followed in August 2017, two years after his death. The outlet HIPHOPDX would call "Venom" "an instant classic," one more honor reaching Price's catalog after he was gone.