Chucky Thompson, one of Diddy’s in-house producers for Bad Boy Records, has died at age 53.
Producer Young Guru made the announcement on Instagram calling him his mentor, big brother and “the man who changed his life forever.”
Bad Boys’ team of producers were often called “Hitmen,” and Thompson lived up to the title. His production credits include Notorious B.I.G.‘s “Big Poppa,” Faith Evans‘ “You Used To Love Me,” and Mary J. Blige‘s breakthrough second album “My Life.” In 1996, the album was nominated for Best R&B album at the Grammy Awards.
“Chucky and I was and will always be a musical match made in heaven,” Blige said in an Instagram post. “He was an angel sent to help me weather my storm.”
Thomas, a native of Washington D.C., first got his start in music playing with legendary go-go musician Chuck Brown.
“Chuck taught me about music, money and people early on with his band,” Thompson said in an interview with the Recording Academy earlier this year.
Prior to his death, Thompson had more music in the works. His last Instagram post teased his first contribution to Diddy’s new record label Love, set to release on Sept. 24, 2021.
Sources: www.pagesix.com, www.essence.com, www.tmz.com, www.npr.org