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Source: YouTube
The group is known for "H-O-S-T-Y-L-E" as well as the controversial single "Who Shot Rudy?"
Hostyle, member of the Queens collective Screwball, passed away over the weekend. Born Frederick Ivey, his cause of death is unknown at this time. Hostyle was 47 years old.
Fellow Queens MC Cormega broke the news on Instagram. Notable names like RA the Rugged Man also shared their condolences.
Blaq Poet, Hostyle, Kyron, and KL formed Screwball in the late 1990s. The latter two previously recorded as the group Kamikaze. Blaq Poet was an underground veteran, known for dissing KRS-One on "Beat You Down" in 1987. Screwball even appeared on Nas' pre-Illmatic demo tape.
Screwball signed with Tommy Boy Records, releasing their debut album Y2K: The Album in 2000. Mike Heron and V.I.C. handled most of the album's production. However, it also featured beats from legends like DJ Premier, Marley Marl, and Pete Rock. The group went on to release two more albums on Tommy Boy, Loyalty and Screwed Up. In 2004, Hostyle released a solo LP, One Eyed Maniac.
The group raised eyebrows with "Who Shot Rudy?" a track about a hypothetical assassination of the then-mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani. According to Heron, reactions to the record caused the album to be pushed back. Additionally, the NYPD and the mayor's representatives began to look into members of the group's criminal records.
Mike Heron shared condolences, as well as a story about the recording process behind "Urban Warfare," a track from Y2K: The Album.
Four years later, fellow Screwball member KL passed away from an asthma attack.
H/T: Ambrosia For Heads
