Posted by As Hip Hop grows older, so does its pioneers and architects. Over the last few years, the culture has witnessed a staggering number of legends pass away — from Biz Markie and Jimmy Spicer to DMX and The Fat Boys’ Prince Markie Dee.
U.T.F.O. member Kangol Kid also lost his life to colon cancer in December 2021, just 10 months after his diagnosis. On Saturday (March 26), fellow Hip Hop trailblazer Doug E. Fresh shared an Instagram public service announcement from a hospital where he was getting a colonoscopy.
“I just got up from a colonoscopy,” he said in the clip. “You can hear the sound in the back. This is the bag. It was a 20 minute situation. I’m telling you, you need to get this done. They may find polyps and stuff like that, which are little things on your colon. You need this. I gotta cut this off because they told me not to have my phone on, but I want you to see me and see what’s going on.
“It’s a little IV, they give you some propofol. That stuff is, like, crazy. I didn’t even know I went to sleep and I’m back. So I’m cutting this off, but I wanted to let y’all know about the whole procedure. Men, you need to do this. Listen to me. Get yourself checked.”
He wrote in the caption, “This is for my brother #kangolkid and all those who passed from this horrible disease. We have to be proactive about our health. To all my brothers out there, let’s do a better job of caring for ourselves. #colonoscopy #prevention.”
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Doug E. Fresh — also known as The Human Beat Box — shared two more videos to the post. One included more information on the colonoscopy aftermath and an introduction to his doctor Dr. Henry who noted there’s a higher risk of colon cancer in the Black community. The other featured Doug E. going through a diagram of gastrointestinal diseases.
“This is something you need to know about, you need to look at it,” he continues. “Down here is the anus, rectal polyps. These little things right here pop up. Some of y’all eat crazy and even if you don’t some of them can pop up because it’s just the way it is. This is colon cancer. This is what affected our brother and other people.”
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Kangol Kid received the grim diagnosis in February 2021 and immediately started chemotherapy. But the following October, Kangol revealed he’d been hospitalized and needed more surgery.
“Please forgive me for not returning calls and more,” he wrote on Instagram at the time. “Things have become, and are becoming a little more difficult than imagined. I’ve been admitted again for complications related to my condition. Thank you to those who have been instrumental in my latest ordeal. Your actions have been well received and greatly appreciated. I am blessed to have you by my side through this. I love you all.”
Kangol Kid was just 55 years old when he passed, bringing his legendary career to an abrupt and tragic end.