Richard Stephen Shaw, the Jamaican-born, Texas-raised rapper who performed under the name Bushwick Bill, passed away Sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Bushwick Bill was 52-years-old and his death was confirmed on Instagram by his publicist.
Per The Inquisitr , the rapper’s passing had been reported prematurely earlier in the day, especially after fellow rapper Scarface posted to Instagram that he had already passed. Bushwick Bill’s family stated that he was still alive and fighting, but he went on to pass away later Sunday.
The rapper, who was born in Jamaica in 1966, had dwarfism and stood 3-feet-8-inches. He originally was associated with the Geto Boys as a dancer, later joining the group as a full-on rapper, and remained with the group through lineup changes.
Bushwick Bill performed on such albums as Grip It! On That Other Level and We Can’t Be Stopped , and such famous songs as “Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta” and “My Mind Playing Tricks On Me.”
He also appeared as a guest on Dr. Dre’s The Chronic and other non-Geto Boys albums. The rapper was also known for having lost his eye in a shooting, with the group going on to use a picture of his wound on the cover of one of their albums.
The rapper, per Rolling Stone , revealed at the beginning of May that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Bushwick Bill had only told his family and close friends about the diagnosis and had not even told his fellow Geto Boys about it until giving an interview with TMZ . The rapper had claimed to have died and come back from the dead after the shooting incident, which led him to not fear death once he was diagnosed with cancer.
The Geto Boys had planned a tour called “The Beginning of a Long Goodbye: The Final Farewell” earlier this year, but it was ultimately called off.
Others in the rap world remembered the late rapper once the official word of his passing was reported Monday.
“I met Bushwick Bill for the first time at SXSW ’18, then wound up DJing for him somehow…,” Mega Ran said on Twitter . “It was madness. He’d lost his music, and told me “just search ‘Geto Boys instrumentals’ on YouTube, we’ll be fine.” I was super nervous, he wasn’t. Bill killed it. What a moment.”
“R.I.P…… BUSHWICK BILL… YOU WILL BE MISSED….,” Biz Markie tweeted Monday.
