Grandfather IU., a well-known rapper, passed away on December 13 at the age of 54. Although the cause of death has not been determined, he is said to have died in his sleep. Raya, a spokeswoman for IU, paid tribute to him in a social media post, saying she was shocked to hear the news. She said, “I’ve always had a lot of love and respect for the artist,” adding:
“I don’t need to upload images or stories to express myself. “I wish a smooth and pleasant transition.”
Grand Daddy IU was best known as a member of the hip-hop group Juice Crew. The rapper is survived by relatives whose identities have not been revealed. Rapper LL Cool J paid tribute to the late musician on Instagram, posting a photo of his friend with a poignant statement announcing his death.
King, rest in power. @granddaddy iu HipHop was in your blood. Thank you very much for your gift.”
Twitter users pay tribute
Despite releasing scarce work, the late musician, also known as Ayub Bey, has managed to attract a large audience in recent years. When they learned of his untimely death, some netizens paid their respects on Twitter:
I previously wondered why one of my old tweets resurfaced. Sad news to hear of his passing. RIP Grand Daddy IU 🙏🏼 https://t.co/Y1611lqayb pic.twitter.com/yZymznbRPi
— Ninja Kitteh 🥷🐈⬛ (@_apocaoptimist) December 13, 2022
RIP Grand Daddy IE pic.twitter.com/SlQ6bewuWE
— Morgue Vanguard (@lord_kobra) December 13, 2022
Grand Daddy IU’s albums and hits were well known.
Grand Daddy IU was born on August 23, 1968 and spent most of his childhood in Hempstead, Long Island. He has never revealed anything about his parents or education history hence no detailed information is available. After being pressured by his brother Kay Cee, he made his debut in the music business in 1989 by signing with Cold Chillin’ Records. Despite his success as a hip-hop musician, he never reached the level of other artists affiliated with the record company. Since his career in the music business, the late 54-year-old has recorded four albums.
His debut album, Smooth Assassin, and his singles were well received by the public. However, Grand Daddy IU took an unfavorable view of the music business as Biz Markie earned publishing credits for the hits, despite IU and his brother Kay Cee doing most of the work.
In June 1994, he released his second album, Lead Pipe. Despite being listed on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, the album failed to replicate the popularity of IU’s initial release. In total there were 16 singles. The lack of marketing and the termination of Cold Chillin’ Records’ partnership with Warner Bros. Records were cited as reasons for the album’s failure.
Later on, Grand Daddy IU took a long break from creating new music and shifted his focus to composing songs for other musicians. He made guest appearances on several albums and his third album, Stick to the Script, was published in 2007 by the record label Steady Flow after a long hiatus. The album became popular due to guest appearances by well-known musicians. He also collaborated with Pudgee Tha Phat Bastard on the album Still Hear. Grand Daddy IU’s most recent album, Essence, was released in 2020 and the single Stay Fly was released a year later.
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