Rest in Peace Rammellzee

Rammelzee performing live at the kitchen, NYC circa 1987. photo by Marc Arsenault.

Word comes to us this evening via Davey D on his Twitter feed that Hip-Hop pioneer Rammellzee has died at age 49. As originally reported on Consequence of Sound. UPDATE Rammellzee’s death was confirmed by his wife, as reported in today’s New York Times.

I was very lucky to see him perform at the Kitchen in New York City in the mid-1980s (picture above). Rammellzee surprised everyone when he suddenly came out with the album The Bi-Conicals of the Rammellzee in 2004. It was a record that seemed perfectly in place with the times. It fit in well with the works of Dälek and UK Grime like Dizzee Rascal’s “Boy In da Corner“.

A bit closer to home, the album featured Paul Geluso on bass and mixing. Paul had previously been a member of 5 Chin 400 with long-time Brown Cuts Neighbors drummer Michael Lopez. (5 Chin 400’s debut single is still available here at Wow Cool).

Another photo from the Kitchen show | Get the Biconicals CD from Amazon | Rammellzee’s Gothic Futurism site