Oakland rapper Saafir died on Tuesday morning, November 19, KQED reports, citing an Instagram post from Xzibit and the late musician’s younger brother and son. A cause of death was not provided. Saafir was 54 years old.
Born Reggie Gibson, in Oakland, California, Saafir was a prominent figure in the 1990s Bay Area rap scene. He made his first recorded appearance on Digital Underground’s 1993 album, The Body-Hat Syndrome, and, the following year, he featured on fellow Oakland rapper Casual’s “That Bullshit.” Around that time, Saafir’s onetime roommate Tupac Shakur introduced him to directors Albert and Allen Hughes, who cast him in their film Menace II Society.
Saafir’s rise continued when he and the Hobo Junction collective took on Casual and the Hieroglyphics Crew in an on-air rap battle on KMEL’s The Wake Up Show. Saafir’s performance helped land him a deal from Quincy Jones’ Qwest Records, which put out his debut album, Boxcar Sessions, in 1994. The rapper went on to release Trigonometry, in 1998, under the alias Mr. No No, before returning to his original moniker for 1999’s The Hit List and 2006’s Good Game: The Transition.