Photo Credit:Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
According to a statement from his longtime friend Xzibit, Saafir, a rapper from Oakland who was well-known for his albums like 1994's Boxcar Sessions and his role in the 1993 movie Menace II Society, passed away on November 19. His age was 54.
According to the X rapper, Saafir, whose real name was Reggie Gibson, died at 8:45 a.m. while surrounded by loved ones.
Xzibit wrote, We have so much history I can’t even explain what I’m feeling right now, in a statement posted to Instagram on November 19. We encircled him and expressed our love for him. Now he can relax.
The former member of Pimp My Ride also showed sympathy for the pain Saafir's family must be going through by saying, Friends, family, everyone that rocked with us from the Hip Hop community, if you could be so solid and reach out for @chopblack his younger brother, and @lilsaafir his son, the family really needs to be supported during this time.
Adding, My soul is crushed, We love you, Bro.
In the early 1990s, Saafir gained notoriety for his collaborations with the hip-hop groups Digital Underground and Hobo Junction, which he joined with the late Tupac Shakur, his former roommate.
His career, however, really took off in 1993 when he was cast in the cult classic Menace II Society, which also starred Samuel L. Jackson and Jada Pinket Smith. He signed a major record deal with the late Quincy Jones the following year, and his debut album, Boxcar Sessions, received praise from critics.
After dropping a few follow-up documents, Saafir mostly disappeared from the public eye because of persistent health issues, such as a cancerous tumor in his spinal cord that necessitated numerous surgeries and prevented him from walking.
In 2013, the Can-U-Feel-Me? rapper told the San Francisco Bay Guardian,I had to have the surgery to get the tumor out. The doctor warned me that I would likely become paralyzed by the time I was in my late 40s if I didn't remove it. Ironically, I'm still somewhat in that predicament even after having the surgery.
Saafir, whose final album, Gold Blooded, Vol. 3, was released in 2020, continued to concentrate on his craft despite his difficult health journey, which may have taken him out of the spotlight.
I’m definitely writing about my experience, how I’m dealing with it and going through it, he stated. Many people believe that I'm going to do the same s-t now after seeing my s-t from the 1990s, but that's simply not the case. I've changed as a human.
