Gangsta Boo, Memphis Rapper Formerly With Three 6 Mafia, Dies at 43 - The New York Times

Lola Chantrelle Mitchell, the Memphis rapper and erstwhile subordinate of Three 6 Mafia who, arsenic Gangsta Boo, helped specify the genre successful the South with her assured flows and forged a way for different pistillate artists, died connected Sunday. She was 43.

She was recovered dormant connected Sunday day successful a vicinity westbound of Memphis International Airport, the Memphis Police Department said successful a connection connected Monday. “There were nary contiguous signs of foul play,” the constabulary said, adding that the probe into her decease was ongoing.

With clever lyrics that were astatine times flirtatious and playful, forceful and proud, Gangsta Boo rapidly established herself successful the 1990s arsenic a rising rap prima who hailed from and flourished successful the South. As a teenager, she joined Three 6 Mafia, an underground rap radical that would spell connected to go 1 of the astir influential of its era.

In 1995, Gangsta Boo and the different members of the group, Juicy J and DJ Paul, released their debut album, “Mystic Stylez,” a nightmarish summation to the booming rap country astatine the time. The album, portion of the subgenre of rap known arsenic horrorcore, captivated listeners with its acheronian references to decease and murders, eerie beats and ominous vocals. Gangsta Boo referred to herself connected the medium arsenic “the devil’s daughter,” capturing the supernatural code of the project.

Three years later, Gangsta Boo released her archetypal solo album, “Enquiring Minds.” It featured 1 of her best-known hits, successful which she transformed a teasing enactment into its rubric and a sticky and memorable hook: “Where Dem Dollas At!?”

While the azygous hinted astatine a superficial sentiment, Gangsta Boo said successful an interrogation with HipHop DX successful 2014 that it besides touched connected the pressures of motherhood and raising a child.

“How tin you person a babe by a dude that has nothing? I consciousness the same,” she said. “I consciousness similar that adjacent much now. That’s wherefore I don’t person kids. It’s got to beryllium the close 1 and the close moment.”

Lola Chantrelle Mitchell was calved connected Aug. 7, 1979, successful Memphis, wherever she was raised alongside 3 older brothers successful an situation that she erstwhile described successful an interrogation arsenic “rough.”

“I got a hood successful maine due to the fact that I had a batch of hood friends,” she said successful an interrogation with All Urban Central successful June of past year. Details astir her parent and father, and her commencement date, were not instantly available. A database of survivors was besides not available.

Gangsta Boo said that, arsenic a child, she ever felt comfy astir boys due to the fact that of her brothers. Their vicinity successful Memphis was called Whitehaven, but Gangsta Boo said she and her siblings and friends nicknamed the vicinity “Blackhaven,” due to the fact that the area’s residents were predominantly Black.

In school, she met DJ Paul, whose existent sanction is Paul Duane Beauregard. Soon, the 2 bonded implicit their emotion of music.

Impressed by her lyricism, DJ Paul asked if she wanted to articulation his crew, Three 6 Mafia. She did. At 16, Gangsta Boo made her archetypal important leap successful the euphony industry.

“It conscionable happened similar that overnight,” she told All Urban Central, adding, “we took disconnected benignant of fast.”

Gangsta Boo collaborated with Three 6 Mafia connected respective albums but near the radical successful the aboriginal 2000s to prosecute a solo career.

When asked wherefore she left, she said successful an interrogation with MTV successful 2001: “There’s nary problem. Sometimes radical turn apart, and fundamentally that’s what it is. There’s nary drama, nary beef. It’s inactive the same. I conscionable benignant of grew apart, and I’m not doing things that they’re doing. I’m not cursing successful my euphony nary more. We conscionable grew isolated similar a marriage.”

That aforesaid year, Gangsta Boo renamed herself Lady Boo due to the fact that she said that she was not “living the gangster lifestyle” and wanted to align herself much intimately with God. Her website still referred to her arsenic Gangsta Boo astatine the clip of her death.

The constitution of Three 6 Mafia evolved implicit the years. In 2006, aft Gangsta Boo’s departure, the radical won an Oscar for champion archetypal opus with “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” from the movie “Hustle & Flow.”

Later successful her career, Gangsta Boo collaborated with galore rappers, particularly those with roots successful the South.

She told Billboard past twelvemonth that “as acold arsenic pistillate hip-hop and rap, I deliberation it’s successful a bully space.”

“They say, ‘Gangsta Boo walked truthful a batch of radical tin run,’” she added.

In caller years, she reflected connected however she had been 1 of the archetypal pistillate rappers to physique disconnected the gangster rap representation and dependable that took disconnected successful the 1990s, singing astir smoking, payback and villainous intentions — themes typically reserved for men.

“A batch of guys successful Memphis was similar ‘Gangsta Pat,’ ‘Gangsta Black,’ — gangsta this, gangsta that,” she told All Urban Central.

But toward the extremity of her life, the moniker had taken connected an enhanced meaning.

“It’s more, you know, conscionable enjoying my beingness arsenic a legendary gangster,” she said.

Livia Albeck-Ripka contributed reporting.