Sean Duval Price (March 17, 1972August 8, 2015) was an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective

Boot Camp Clik Boot Camp Clik is an American hip hop supergroup from Brooklyn, New York City, which is composed of Buckshot (of Black Moon), Smif-N-Wessun ( Tek and Steele), Heltah Skeltah (Rock and Sean Price) and O.G.C. (Starang Wondah, Top Dog, and Louievi ...

. He was one half of the duo

Heltah Skeltah Heltah Skeltah was an American hip hop duo which consisted of rappers Jahmal "Rock" Bush and Sean "Ruck" Price. The two were also members of New York supergroup Boot Camp Clik, along with Buckshot, Smif-N-Wessun and O.G.C. Biography Hel ...

, performing under the name Ruck, along with partner Rock.

Early life and education

Growing up in the borough of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Price was a member of the

Decepticons The Decepticons are the main antagonists in the fictional continuities of the ''Transformers'' multimedia franchise. They are depicted as a faction of sentient robotic lifeforms led by Megatron, identified by a purple face-like insignia. Capab ...

in high school.

Career

A member of the underground hip hop collective

, Price first appeared on Smif-N-Wessun's 1995 album ''

Dah Shinin' ''Dah Shinin is the debut studio album by American East Coast hip hop duo Smif-N-Wessun. It was released on January 10, 1995 via Wreck/Nervous Records. Recording sessions took place at D&D Studios in New York City. Production was handled by Da Be ...

''. He would soon resurface in 1996 as one half of the critically acclaimed Brooklyn duo

, who released their debut album ''

Nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

'' on

Duck Down Records Duck Down Music Inc is a New York City based record label, talent management, music-marketing, and consulting company founded by Drew "Dru-Ha" Friedman and Kenyatta "Buckshot" Blake in 1995. In Duck Down's 20-year existence, the Company has rel ...

that year. Heltah Skeltah would go on to release two more albums: 1998's ''

Magnum Force ''Magnum Force'' is a 1973 American neo-noir vigilante action thriller film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film ''Dirty Harry''. Ted Post, who had previously worked with Eastwood on '' Ra ...

'' and 2008's '' D.I.R.T.''. In the 2000s, Price established himself as a strong force in the underground hip hop community. He was featured on Grand Theft Auto 3's GAME FM radio station in 2001. In 2005, Price released his first solo album ''

Monkey Barz ''Monkey Barz'' is the debut solo studio album by American Brooklyn-based rapper Sean Price of Heltah Skeltah. It was released on June 13, 2005 through Duck Down Records as a part of the label's "Triple Threat Campaign", followed by Buckshot's ''C ...

'', to critical acclaim. He followed this in 2007 with ''

Jesus Price Supastar ''Jesus Price Supastar'' is the second solo studio album by American rapper Sean Price of Heltah Skeltah and Boot Camp Clik. Originally planned to be released on September 19, 2006, it was pushed back to October 31, and then was pushed back for the ...

'' and ''

Mic Tyson ''Mic Tyson'' is the third solo studio album by American rapper Sean Price. It was released on October 30, 2012 through Duck Down Records. Production was handled by Alchemist, Beat Butcha, Eric G, Evidence, 9th Wonder, AMP, Khrysis and Wool. It fe ...

'' in 2012. Price was interviewed on the online series ''Grand Angel TV'' in 2008 and 2010, with

Paid Dues Paid Dues was an annual hip hop festival that took place in California, until the summer of 2006, when it was announced that the festival would travel to multiple locations. The last festival took place in 2013. Paid Dues was an event presente ...

performance footage alongside Boot Camp Clik and

Dru Ha Dru, dru, or DRU may refer to: People Real persons (surname) * (born 1987), French trampolinist * Joanne Dru (1922–1996), American actress Real persons (forename) * Andrew Dru Castro (born 1976), American Grammy Award-winning recording engin ...

, respectively. In 2011, Price was a judge on the ''Ultimate MC'' TV show alongside

Royce da 5'9" Ryan Daniel Montgomery, known professionally as Royce da 5'9" (or simply Royce 5'9"), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Montgomery is currently one half of the rap duo Bad Meets Evil with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, and ...

, Organik,

Planet Asia Jason Cullen Green (born October 24, 1976), better known as Planet Asia, is a rapper from Fresno, California. He is prominent for being one half of the now reunited hip-hop duo the Cali Agents and is currently a member of the groups Gold Chain ...

, and

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper from South Jamaica, Queens, New York. He is known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhy ...

. Also in 2011, he formed the group

Random Axe ''Random Axe'' is the only studio album from the American hip hop group Random Axe, released June 14, 2011, on Duck Down Music Inc. The group was composed of hip hop producer Black Milk and rappers Guilty Simpson and the late Sean Price. The alb ...

with

Guilty Simpson Byron Dwayne “Guilty” Simpson is an American rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan whose recording career spans more than 20 years. He is signed to Stones Throw Records, and is known for being one of the late producer J Dilla’s favo ...

and producer Black Milk. He had a planned collaborative album with rapper

Ill Bill William Braunstein (born July 14, 1972), known by his stage name Ill Bill, is an American rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York City. Having gained fame in the underground hip hop group Non Phixion, Ill Bill is known for his diver ...

in the works, called ''The Pill''. ''Songs in the Key of Price'', a mixtape recorded before Price's death, was released posthumously on August 21, 2015. The posthumous release of his fourth studio album, ''

Imperius Rex ''Imperius Rex'' is the fourth solo studio album by American rapper Sean Price. It was released on August 8, 2017, via Duck Down Music, exactly two years after his death, making it his first posthumous release. It features guest appearances from Be ...

'', followed in August 2017.

Death

On August 8, 2015, Price died at the age of 43. Details were not immediately available, but a statement from his reps confirmed his death, while adding that he died in his sleep. "It is with beyond a heavy heart that Duck Down Music is sadly confirming that Sean Price passed away early this morning in his Brooklyn apartment, Saturday, August 8th, 2015," read the statement. "The cause of death is currently unknown, but it was reported that he died in his sleep. He's survived by his three children."

Personal life

Price was a cousin of

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

rapper

Memphis Bleek Malik Deshawn Cox (born June 23, 1978), known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper who was a protégé of fellow New York rapper Jay-Z. Cox started his own labels: Get Low Records in 1998, and #Warehouse Music Group, Warehouse M ...

and actor

Michael K. Williams Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame in 2002 through his critically acclaimed role as Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire''. He has been described as a "singular pr ...

. He was also close friends with actor

Ryan Phillippe Matthew Ryan Phillippe (; born September 10, 1974) is an American actor. After appearing as Billy Douglas on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'', he came to fame in the late 1990s with starring roles in films including ''I Know What You Did Las ...

. Price lived in

Brownsville, Brooklyn Brownsville is a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The neighborhood is generally bordered by Crown Heights to the northwest; Bedford–Stuyvesant and Cypress Hills to the north; East New York to the east; Canarsie ...

. He was a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, having converted in 2009.

Discography

Studio albums *''

'' (2005) *''

'' (2007) *''

'' (2012) *''

'' (2017)

References

External links

Duck Down Records website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Sean 1972 births 2015 deaths African-American Muslims African-American male rappers Boot Camp Clik members Converts to Islam East Coast hip hop musicians Hardcore hip hop artists People from Brownsville, Brooklyn Rappers from Brooklyn Underground rappers The Fab 5 members Rappers from New York City