Hip-hop, R&B, and pop producer Chucky Thompson, who worked as a member of Bad Boy Record’s in-house production team the Hitmen, has died. He was 53 years old.
His death was confirmed in a statement to Pitchfork by Thompson’s publicist Tamar Juda. “It is with a very heavy heart that I can confirm the passing of Chucky Thompson,” Juda said. “To anyone in his orbit, you know how generous he was with his energy, creativity and love. Both the music industry, and the world has lost a titan.” No official cause of death has been confirmed, though AllHip-Hop reported that Thompson died from complications of COVID-19.
Born in Washington, D.C. on July 12th, 1968, Thompson cut his teeth playing alongside Chuck Brown’s band the Soul Searchers. In the 90s’ Thompson crossed paths with Sean “Puffy” Combs, who was in the process of founding Bad Boy Records after being fired from Uptown Records.
Combs enlisted Thompson to produce a song for Mary J. Blige’s second album, My Life. Blige was so taken by his production, she had him produce the entire album. My Life would go on to earn a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album.
Thompson was a production titan during ’90s-era hip-hop. He produced the Notorious B.I.G.’s landmark debut record, 1994’s ‘Ready to Die’; alongside a slew of platinum singles including Faith Evans’ ‘You Used To Love Me,’ Usher’s ‘Think of You,’ Nas’ ‘One Mic’ and Mariah Carey’s ‘One Sweet Day.’
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