Hip-Hop Artist Magoo, Longtime Collaborator With Timbaland, Dies at 50

Hip-hop artist Magoo, known for his longtime collaboration with famed producer Timbaland, has reportedly passed away at fifty years old. The news broke Sunday evening when music producer Digital Black posted on Instagram a picture of one of Timbaland and Magoo’s album covers, accompanied with the caption, “Man can’t believe this R.I.H. Magoo damn big bro wasn't ready for this at all #superfriends.”

Shortly after the notice of Magoo’s passing, Timbaland went to social media, posting multiple tributes for the hip-hop artist on Instagram. One of the posts was a video of the duo on stage performing together, with the caption, “This one hits different, long live Melvin aka Magoo!!! Tim and Magoo forever rest easy my king.”

In addition to Timbaland, female hip-hop icon Missy Elliott also took to social media to pay her respects to the deceased artist. Posting the tribute video on Twitter, Elliot followed with a caption saying, "This kind of post I don’t wish on any1 at 1st I was in shock & now reality has kicked in i asked you to rap on Beep Me 911 & I played your verse over & over because I always loved your VA style posting this is so heartbreaking I am so lost for words…#RIPMAGOO." Elliot was featured on Magoo's most popular track "Up Jumps The Boogie," which peaked at No. 12 on the U.S. Billboard top 100.

Based out of Norfolk, Virginia, the duo of Magoo and Timbaland was initially formed in 1989, when the two were teenagers. Later the following decade, they reconciled and released their first joint album Welcome to Our World in 1997, which eventually became a certified Platinum record a year later.

In 2001, the duo released their second album titled Indecent Proposal, which has sold 356 thousand copies since its release. Their final joint album Under Construction, Part II, a formal sequel to Missy Elliot’s Under Construction record, was released in 2003 and peaked at 50 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Since then, Empire Distribution has re-released the duo’s discography, making it readily available on streaming platforms for the first time.

Along with being Timbaland’s longtime musical partner, Magoo has also collaborated numerous times with Missy Elliot, being featured on multiple tracks throughout his career. He also frequently collaborated with hip-hop group Playa, headlined by Digital Black, Static Major, and Smoke E. Digglera.