Chucky Thompson, Producer Of Hits For Biggie & Nas, Has Passed Away

Legendary Hip-Hop and R&B producer Chucky Thompson has died. Moments ago today (August 10), Young Guru confirmed the news. Thompson worked for over 30 years in music, producing hits including The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Big Poppa,” Craig Mack’s “Flava In Ya Ear (Remix),” and Nas’ “One Mic,” along with an extensive catalog for Usher, Mary J. Blige, and Faith Evans. He also was part of The Hitmen, a production collective assembled by Bad Boy Records founder Sean “Diddy” Combs. With Puff, Thompson made Biggie’s “Dead Wrong,” along with tracks for Total, New Edition, and TLC.

AllHipHop has reported that Thompson died due to the COVID-19 virus.

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In a touching tribute, Young Guru credited Thompson with allowing him to be in the presence of Biggie. Now a producer/engineer associated with JAY-Z, Rapsody, and others, Guru points out that Thompson insisted that labels budget to include his attendance at Chucky’s sessions.

 

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Thompson was a Washington, D.C. native from the LeDroit Park section. Growing up, he was a percussion player with legendary Go-Go group, Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers. In 1993, he signed with Bad Boy Records as a producer. Chucky represented “Bad Boy for life” and credited Combs with his discovery throughout the rest of his career. He worked with breakthrough Bad Boy stars Biggie Smalls and Craig Mack, as well as Faith Evans, Total, and 112. Beyond beat machines, Thompson played guitar and keys.

 

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Thompson was Grammy-nominated for producing Mary J. Blige’s My Life, which contended for “Best R&B Album.” Twenty-five years later, he appeared in MJB’s documentary of the same name. He remixed Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” and laced tracks for Soul For Real, Born Jamericans, and Lil Mo.

Last month, Chucky told Stupid Dope‘s Levar Thomas about his breakthrough. “The first fond experience in music was when I got the first group signed to a major deal and scored their first single. That group was The Born Jamericans and the single was ‘Boom Shak Attak,’ which is deemed a Reggae/Hip-Hop classic to this day.” Delicious Vinyl Records signed the DC genre-fusing crew and released two albums.

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In Hip-Hop, Thompson produced one of Nas’ biggest records with Stillmatic single “One Mic.”  That song’s crescendo music video would earn Nasir Jones a Grammy nomination. He also worked with Ice Cube and Juvenile.

Ambrosia For Heads extends condolences to the family of Chucky Thompson, the Bad Boy team, and the artist’s friends and fans.

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#BonusBeat: A comprehensive interview with Chucky Thompson by Rahman “Kil” Kilpatrick: