Magoo, best known for his work as one half of Timbaland & Magoo, has reportedly died. He was only 50 years old.
Digital Black, of the group Playa, was the first to post a tribute to his Instagram page to the late rapper on Sunday (August 13).
“Man can’t believe this RIP Magoo damn big bro wasnt ready for this at all #superfriends,” he wrote.
Ginuwine, too, appeared to pay tribute to the Norfolk, VA native (real name Melvin Barcliff). “Times get rough but we keep on pushing just heard some news I hope it ain’t true …I just want everyone to know that time is short love who you love and make sure they know it,” he wrote on Sunday (August 13).
Originally formed in 1989, Timbaland & Magoo initially met when they were teenagers, and decided to form a rap group. Though best known for their single, “Up Jumps Da Boogie,” the pair released three albums and were perhaps best known for their work with Missy Elliott.
In 2021, Blackground Records and Empire Distribution teamed up to re-release the whole Timbaland & Magoo catalogue, which also included Timb’s Tim’s Bio: Life from the Basement LP that initially dropped in 1998.
This distribution deal made it possible for the catalogue to be released to streaming platforms, making it available to larger audiences for the first time since the group’s inception.
Magoo, too, was far from a forgotten figure in Hip Hop, receiving his flowers back in May 2020 (though at the expense of Timbaland, much to the latter’s chagrin).
A Twitter user shared quite the hot take on Timbaland’s rap partner. With a clip of the Virginia native’s verse from his and Timbo’s 1997 hit “Luv 2 Luv U,” the woman declared Magoo the worst to ever hit a mic.
No cause of death has been released for Magoo, and neither his family nor Timbaland have officially released a statement.
