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2018 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - Day 6

Source: Josh Brasted / Getty


New Orleans and the Hip-Hop nation abroad are gathered in mourning and in celebrating the life of Bounce music legend, 5th Ward Weebie. The rapper born Jerome Cosey, passed from a heart attack according to published reports.

As reported by local outlet KLFY 10 News, Cosey was an instrumental and pioneering voice in New Orleans’ Bounce music and culture, and has worked with many of the city’s notable acts such as Mystikal and Master P. It was shared in the report that much of Cosey’s impact occurred in the 1990s but he was very much a central figure in the local scene across all genres.

“First his kidneys went and they had him on a machine to get his kidneys back working, then his lungs went the next day,” local artist P Town Moe said to KLFY. “I don’t know why God wanted him at this time, but my brother gone.”

Tributes from several key New Orleans figures came pouring in after the news, including a statement from Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

“It broke my heart to learn that Jerome Cosey — our 5th Ward Weebie — has passed. Let me find out you didn’t know who he was … He was an iconic personality, a New Orleans legend, and a beloved friend,” Mayor Cantrell wrote in the caption for a Twitter post and photo featuring the pair.

Cosey’s big hits included joints like “F*ck Katrina,” “Let Me Find Out,” and Kane & Abel’s “Shake It Like A Dogg” among others. He made his full-length debut in 1999 with his studio album, Show The World. In recent times, Drake included Cosey on the smash hit “Nice For What.”

Cosey was 42.

We’ve got the reactions and tweets regarding the unfortunate passing of the famed New Orleans rapper below. Our condolences to the family and fans of 5th Ward Weebie.

Photo: Getty

Twitter Mourns Passing Of New Orleans Bounce Legend 5th Ward Weebie  was originally published on hiphopwired.com

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