RIP to an unsung legend

Early Geto Boys producer, DJ Ready Red, died of an apparent heart attack yesterday, according to groupmate and collaborator, Willie D.

The rapper offered his condolences and remembrances in a video yesterday, revealing Red had passed in his Cherry Hill, NJ home at 53 years old. Willie noted that Red "was before his time" and that producer was responsible for giving the Geto Boys their sound. A Jersey native, Red joined the group in 1986 and remained with them until the recording of We Can't Be Stopped, citing unfair compensation for his work in parting ways.

Responsible for nearly the entirety of the production on the group's debut album, Making Trouble, (known then as Ghetto Boys) and the follow-up, Grip It! On That Level, as well as Willie D's solo album, Controversy, Red will be remembered as a Rap-A-Lot's ace-in-the-hole; as the tremoring sonic thread between all of the Houston label's early output; as the foundation for a groundbreaking '90s rap movement.

See posts from Willie D and Bushwick Bill below.