NORTH LAWNDALE— Chicago singer Johnny P died on Sunday, according to friends.
The news of his death was confirmed by Chicago Hip-Hop luminaries Do or Die on Twitter.
Our Brother Was Called Home.. Rest In Heaven #JohnnyP. Our Prayers Are With His Family #Do… https://t.co/lbarWqROUF pic.twitter.com/wS9I558otT
— DO OR DIE (@DoOrDieNation) November 27, 2016
Fake Shore Drive, a Chicago Hip-Hop music blog, reported that Johnny P, whose given name was Johnny Pigram, had been in a coma for "a few weeks" prior to this death.
Pigram, 44, a North Lawndale native, was a frequent collaborator with many of the Hip-Hop acts from the West Side of the city that emerged in the mid-'90s, including Do or Die and Twista, while being a contemporary of other West Side-based groups such as Psychodrama and Crucial Conflict.
He also provided the background vocals for Hip-Hop music legends such as 2Pac and Scarface.
Pigram provided one of the most recognizable vocals in Chicago Hip-Hop history on the 1996 song "Po' Pimp" from Do or Die by saying "Do you wanna ride in the backseat of a Caddy? Chop it up with Do or Die."
According to Billboard Music, the song was one of the best selling records of 1996.
Several other notable members of Chicago's Hip-Hop scene also took to Twitter to express condolences.
RIP Johnny P
— Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco) November 28, 2016
Po-Pimpin! 🙏🏾 Chicago Legend! pic.twitter.com/lTG1Aq76jZ
Rest In Power ... Johnny P ...
— Mic Terror O.P.S.N. (@MicDaTerrible) November 28, 2016
"I used to have him on as a guest on my show and had a segment called "Johnny P Sings to the Ladies. They would call and he would serenade them," said Shannon Brazier, known to Chicago radio listeners as "Trey Da Chokllit Jok," who previously worked at Power 92. "He was a trend setter, kind-hearted guy. A voice bigger than life. A huge part of the emergence of the Hip-Hop scene in the mid to late '90s and early 2000s. His hooks made those big records from Twista and Do or Die and then the hip hop classics for Scarface and 2Pac."
A bio posted on the website of Pigram's record label, "Wicked Entertainment," says Pigram once marched along side then-Chicago Mayor Harold Washington in the Bud Billiken Parade.
Family members could not be reached for comment.
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