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The passing of rapper Magoo, best known as part of the spacey rap duo alongside superproducer Timbaland, made for a major loss to the influential Virginia rap scene and hip-hop community in general.
An emcee who was the same age as the genre itself, the Swing Mob affiliate that also went by “Mag-an-ooh” had a distinctive voice that was easily the collective’s most defining within the bunch. With
Aaliyah and Ginuwine doing their jobs as the crew’s core crooners, and Missy Elliott making a
monumental imprint in rap from a woman’s perspective, Timbaland relied on Magoo to serve as the male voice to his eclectic beats that had a fighting chance in an industry that admittedly catered to the fellas. Thus, Timbaland & Magoo was formed as a duo, resulting in a string of back-to-back bangers on the Billboard charts between the late ’90s and early 2000s.
Looking back now, we can only show our thanks and gratitude to the man that officially gave Missy the iconic nickname “misdemeanor.”
RELATED: Report: Rapper Magoo Passes Away At Age 50
Born Melvin Barcliff, the late emcee would go on to drop some of the most oddball and admittedly ‘WTF’ verses ever laid on wax, from slut-shaming Madonna out of nowhere on “Up Jumps Da’ Boogie” to that very questionable metaphor that he decided to rhyme with
‘up in the cut’ on the same song. Nonetheless, his unique, Q-Tip-inspired flow gave us some catchy choruses to sing along to —
“When the clock strikes / Half past two, yeah / They’ll be dancin’ / Through the night!” — and musical memories that will last forever.
We will forever keep the boogie “up and jumping” in your honor, Mag.
Jam along with us as we remember the late Magoo with some of his defining hits alongside Timbaland, Missy and the whole Swing Mob crew:
