Died On This Date (December 16, 2011) Slim Dunkin / Rapper with 1017 Brick Squad, Brick Squad Monopoly
themusicsover Slim Dunkin (Born Mario Hamilton)
DOB Unknown – December 16, 2011
Slim Dunkin was an up-and-coming rapper who was part of the hip-hop collective, 1017 Brick Squad / Brick Squad Monopoly. Formed in Atlanta in 2008, the group also includes Waka Flocka Flame, Wooh Da Kid, OJ Da Juiceman, Frenchie, and Gucci Mane, who has since become the CEO and leader of the group. Dunkin can be heard on several Waka Flocka Flame recordings as well as his own, and had just completed a 20-song mixtape. During the evening hours of December 16, 2011, Slim Dunkin was working in an Atlanta recording studio when he reportedly got into an argument with another individual. The altercation escalated to the point where Dunkin was believed to have been shot in the chest. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The presumed assailant remained unidentified in the immediate aftermath.
Thanks to Paul Bearer for the assist.
What You Should Own
Karryl “Special One” Smith was one half of the popular San Francisco hip-hop duo, the Conscious Daughters. Smith formed the act with Carla “CMG” Green in 1992, and within a year, they were signed to Paris’ label, Scarface Records. Their first album, 1994’s Ear To The Street, included their first hit, “Somethin’ to Ride (Fonky Expedition).” They went on to secure a deal with the iconic Priority Records who released their follow-up, Gamers, which landed on the Billboard charts and sold upwards of 300,000 copies. More releases followed, including 2011’s The Jane Of All Trades. Special One was reportedly found dead inside her home on December 10, 2011. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Sylvia Robinson is best remembered as the founder and CEO of influential rap label, Sugar Hill Records who introduced most of the world to rap and hip-hop thanks to a stable of artists that included the Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Melle Mel, and the Treacherous Three. In doing so, Robinson was largely responsible for what we know as popular music, fashion, and pop culture today. Born in New York City, Robinson achieved a bit of success as a singer herself when she released the moderate hit, “Love Is Strange” in 1957. By the late ’60s, she had moved over to the label side of the business with her own company, All Platinum Records where she produced and released mostly soul records. In 1973, Robinson released another record, this time simply as Sylvia. It was called “Pillow Talk” and sold over 2 million copies, ultimately reaching #3 on the pop charts. It is widely considered one of the foundations on which disco was built, while its drumming rhythm would later be heard on “Running Up The Hill” by Kate Bush and “Big Love” by Fleetwood Mac. During the late ’70s, Robinson, her husband, Joe Robinson, and Milton Malden launched Sugar Hill Records where she quickly helped form the Sugarhill Gang who went on to release rap music’s first commercially successful single, 1979’s “Rapper’s Delight.” Robinson soon followed that with “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. That song is credited for bringing socially conscience lyrics to rap, and along with other early releases from Sugar Hill, introduced the fine art of sampling to the world. According to 
Gil Scott-Heron was an American poet, musician, and author who has been called the “Godfather of Rap” due to the social and political commentary of his work as well as the vocal delivery with which he presented his songs. Had there been such a word during the early ’70s, his spoken word over a jazz backdrop would have been called “rap.” These early recordings were the foundation on which rap, hip-hop, and neo-soul were built. In 1970, he released a song/poem entitled “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” which many consider the exact moment at which hip-hop was born even though we wouldn’t know it for at least another 10 years. Throughout the late ’70s and ’80s, Scott-Heron lent his voice to political and social causes like the 1979 No Nukes Concert and 1985’s Artists United Against Apartheid’s Sun City benefit album. Scott-Heron spent a good part of the 2000s in jail due to various drug related charges, but in 2010, his career experienced a renaissance when he was signed to hip independent label, XL Recordings, home to such artists as Adele, the XX, Vampire Weekend, and Sigur Ros. His label debut, I’m New Here, which was his first album in 16 years, turned him on to a whole new generation of both hip-hop fans and hipsters alike. On May 27, 2011, it was announced that Gil Scott-Heron, age 62, passed away in a New York City hospital earlier that day. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Macho Man Randy Savage was more commonly known as a wildly flamboyant WWF professional wrestler who held no fewer than 30 championship belts. But Savage also made a mark on popular music as well. In 2003, Savage released his only album, a rap collection entitled, Be A Man that included the hit “diss” on Hulk Hogan of the same name. The CD comes highly recommended by no less than indie-rock darling, Devendra Banhart by way of a 2007