This year 2017 was a year we lost some legendary pioneers in hip hop. One of them was UTFO member, Educated Rapper a.k.a. EMD (real name, Jeffrey Campbell). Sadly, EMD passed away on June 3, 2017 from a long battle with cancer. He was just 54 years young.
It’s hard to talk about Educated Rapper without talking about how he was one of the coldest rappers in the game back in the day. We’ll never forget when he spit these lyrics on “Roxanne, Roxanne”:
“You should know, she doesn’t need a guy like you/ She needs a guy like me, with a high IQ/ And she’ll take to my rap, cause my rap’s the best/ The educated rapper MD will never fess…”
Or what about his fire verse in “You Wanna Be With Me”:
“She wants to be with me and I know this for sure/ I can tell as soon as she walks through the door/ Swings and sways and shakes her stuff like Jello/ Waitin for EMD to say hello..”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUFkGWnoSKM
Those were the good ol’ days, but it was a very sad day when EMD died- both the hip hop and the old school R&B communities mourned. Many people took to social media to pay their respects, including his three rap ‘brothers,’ UTFO’s Kangol Kid, Doctor Ice, and Mix Master Ice. Those cats made history together and in June the four of them found themselves banning together in prayer for a miracle to save EMD’s life. Although there was nothing they were able to do about the inevitable downward decline of EMD’s health, there were some things they accomplished together in EMD’s last days.
Kangol Recalls Their Reunion Around EMD’s Hospital Bed, After Many Years Apart
Many never knew that Kangol, Educated Rapper, Mix Master, and Doctor Ice had not been together in the same room, nor really even spoken much in an entire 20 YEARS. Kangol revealed that it was their love for EMD that finally made them reunite, just days before his unfortunate passing:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BU3QLfhA0Kc/
Painfully, Kangol Revealed What He’s Grateful He Told EMD Just Before His Death
Sadly, soon after Kangol Kid shared the news of their reunion, he was forced to share news of his death. In doing so, their was still a touching lesson he, EMD, and their UTFO group members were able to pass on. It was a message of giving our loved ones their ‘flowers’ while they’re still here, because we never know when any our last breathes will be. Check out Kangol’s message about EMD below (via Instagram):
@yokangol: To everyone who loves Hip-Hop and to everyone who ever danced to a UTFO song, Please do me a favor: Go through your phone’s contact list and find someone that you love, but haven’t said “I love you” to in years. Then call that person and say, “I LOVE YOU”. I had the opportunity to say those words to my brother “E” 2 days before he died. Some of y’all may not have that same opportunity. We hadn’t talked in years…yet he smiled at me like we saw each other yesterday. That’s the true definition of “Brotherly Love”. I always imagined us writing another chapter. I can’t believe our book has closed Bro. I will forever miss you and forever love you my brother. ~Kang.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BU_DWwEAQoA/
UTFO At EMD’s Funeral
https://www.instagram.com/p/BV9enNFgYtj/
Educated Rapper may be gone from this earth, but his legacy will never be forgotten. We, true Old School hip hop heads, will make sure of that. Rest easy EMD.
Reminisce with us as we uplift the memory of Jeffrey “Educator Rapper EMD” Campbell with these UTFO classics:
“Leader of the Pack”
“Split Personality”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seV9R8PJyUI
“Fairy Tale Lover”
