Lord Infamous Passes Away!

Memphis is the home of the Oscar award winning rap group Three Six Mafia (aka Da  Mafia 6ix).

This year was great for the founding member Juicy J (Jordan Houston). The rapper was celebrating his successful mainstream album Stay Trippy. It's hailed as one of the best album in 2013. And with this joy comes a tragedy that hits real close.

The founding member of the Mafia, Lord Infamous (Ricky Dunigan) passes away over the weekend of an apparent heart attack.

He was 40 years old at the time of his death.

The Hollywood Reporter has further confirmed that the cause of death was a heart attack. "He said he was tired," his half-brother, Three 6 Mafia member DJ Paul said. "He wanted to sleep. He sat down at the kitchen table, put his head in his arms to lay down ... to get some sleep."

In 2006, they were the first rap group to win an Oscar for Best Original Song with "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp."

"He was a legend in the game, truly ahead of his time," DJ Paul (Paul Beauregard) said to Rolling Stone. "He was such a great lyricist and he always came with these different styles in his rap and his flow."

He was considered by fans and critics alike as being the darker member of the group, with his lyrics touching on occult subject matters such as satanism, mass murder, suicide, and torture.

Formed in 1991 as Backyard Posse then later Triple 6 Mafia, by DJ Paul, Lord Infamous, Juicy J and Koopsta Knicca, the group later included two more members including; Crunchy Black and Gangsta Boo (who were both added shortly before the release of their debut album Mystic Stylez).


The group has also collaborated with many rappers on their own label; Hypnotize Minds, where they have kick started the careers for many Memphis rappers, such as; Frayser Boy, Gangsta Blac, Lil Wyte and Indo G.

The group frequently collaborates with Project Pat (Juicy J's older brother).

Lord Infamous.

In 2006 following jail time which lead to a breach of contract with Sony, Lord Infamous was forced to end work with Three 6 Mafia. He is still on good terms with the group and was not kicked out of or left the group as many rumors had suggested.

In 2013, Infamous rejoined four of the original Three 6 Mafia members to form the group Da Mafia 6ix. They released their debut mixtape 6ix Commandments in late 2013 and are currently working on a studio album.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the family of Lord Infamous.