Red Mosquito

E.H. Ruddock wrote:John Berry died yesterday.

Hip-hop history is, unfortunately, suffused with death, with many of the genre’s most famous artists never even living to see 30. So on the one hand, the legendary KRS-One—who’s been in the industry long enough to see untold scores of his contemporaries die, of causes both violent and natural—can be forgiven for getting mixed-up on some of the specifics. On the other hand, oops, he thinks the Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock is dead, and he just shouted out his ghost on the new track, “Hip Hop Speaks From Heaven.”

“Like a late fog in the mist / I see King Ad-Rock / And rest in peace Nate Dogg / Their names and their natures will last,” KRS-One says around the 3:12 mark, adding the very-much-alive Adam Horovitz to a eulogy for fallen rappers that includes Tupac, Biggie, Eazy-E, Big Pun, Ol Dirty Bastard, Big L, J Dilla, and Phife Dawg, among others.