Fresh Kid Ice
Fresh Kid Ice, a rapper and founding member of the Miami hip hop group 2 Live Crew passed aged 53. The sad news was confirmed by his manager.
According to the group’s manager, he died at 7:50 AM Thursday in a Miami hospital due to a medical condition.
Read below the top facts about Fresh Kid Ice.
1. He was of Asian descent
Christopher Wong Won was born in 1964 in Port of Spain, Trinidad. His grandfather was Cantonese. Fresh Kid who also went by the name “The Chinaman” –eventually became hip hop’s first notable rapper of Asian descent.
2. He made the move to the US as a teenager.
Fresh Kid Ice arrived to the US with his family in 1977, establishing first in Brooklyn. Fresh Kid served in the U.S. Air Force for 4 years before getting into music.
3. He co-founded 2 Live Crew
He co-founded 2 Live Crew with fellow rappers DJ Mr. Mixx and Amazing V in 1984, joining forces with Campbell and moving to Miami shortly after.
4. They were responsible for popularizing the booming, hard-driving sound of Miami bass music.
The group were also the founding fathers of a populist, dance-oriented rap subgenre that relied on simple, explicit chants and up-tempo rump-shaking grooves, appropriately dubbed “booty rap.”
5. Their album As Nasty As They Wanna Be was history’s first legally obscene album
2 Live Crew were known for their sexually charged releases famously going to court for the 1989 album. A federal court made it illegal for retailers in the southern Florida area to sell the album, a ruling that was overturned two years later.
6. Fresh Kid Ice also released solo material
In the early 90’s, when 2 Live Crew were drifting apart, Fresh Kid Ice released his first solo album, The Chinaman. Singles released to promote the album were “Dick ‘Em Down”, “I’ll be there”, and “Freak ‘Em Down” (the clean version of Dick’Em Down). The album became a cult classic.
7. He teamed up with rapper Verb (Larry Dobson) to form the New 2 Live Crew.
In 1994, Luke, Fresh Kid Ice, and new rapper Verb (born Larry Dobson) regrouped as the New 2 Live Crew, issuing the album Back at Your Ass for the Nine-4. The New 2 Live Crew didn’t last long as Luke chose to concentrate on his solo career.
8. He re-formed the 2 Live Crew again in 1996.
In 1996, Fresh Kid Ice, Brother Marquis, and Mr. Mixx re-formed the 2 Live Crew without Campbell and released Shake a Lil’ Somethin’. The 2 Live Crew issued The Real One in 1998.
9. Fresh Kid Ice released a memoir
In 2015 “My Rise 2 Fame”: The Tell All Autobiography of a Hip Hop Legend, was released.
10. He went on to form his own label
Fresh Kid Ice was the owner of Chinaman Records.
Our condolences go out to his family.
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