Lola Chantrelle Mitchell, aka Gangsta Boo, was one of the first women to break into rap music in the 1990s. She is known both as a member of the formation Three 6 Mafia and as a solo artist. Why she dies at the age of only 43 is a mystery.

Lola Chantrelle Mitchell, better known as rapper Gangsta Boo, is dead. She was 43 years old. The musician from Memphis, once a member of the group Three 6 Mafia, was found dead on Sunday morning, according to US media reports. DJ Paul, who was one of the founding members of Three 6 Mafia, posted a photo honoring his former colleague on his Instagram page, to which many people expressed their condolences.

There is no official information on the possible cause of death. The US portal “TMZ” reported that the rapper’s death may be related to drugs. Gangsta Boo is said to have been with her brother at a concert in Memphis on Saturday. The evening together is said to have ended with the brother’s hospitalization after he overdosed on an unspecified substance. Narcotics were also found on her.

However, while the brother got back on his feet after the treatment, Gangsta Boo was found dead a little later, according to “TMZ”. The portal relies on alleged sources from the rapper’s environment. The police have started investigations. An autopsy is also mandatory, it said.

Mitchell is considered a pioneer of female rap music. She started rapping at the age of 14 and was featured on Three 6 Mafia’s debut album Mystic Stylez in the early 1990s. Gangsta Boo was the second female member of the group.

In 1998, at the age of 19, the musician released her first solo album “Inquiring Minds”, but continued to work with Three 6 Mafia until 2001. In total, Gangsta Boo was involved in six Three 6 Mafia albums. The group later won an Oscar for Best Original Song, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from the movie Hustle

The year she left Three 6 Mafia, Mitchell released her second album, Both Worlds *69, followed by her final studio album, Inquiring Minds II: The Soap Opera (2003). Even without a big studio behind him, Mitchell was regularly releasing mixtapes and appearing on tracks by other artists, including Run the Jewels, Junglepussy and Blood Orange.

(This article was first published on Monday, January 02, 2023.)