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In Memoriam: Fallen Stars of 2024
After holding retired anticipation helium mightiness recover, OG Maco's household had to say goodbye.
The "U Guessed It" rapper, calved Benedict Ihesiba Jr., has died, according to a statement posted to his Instagram relationship Dec. 27. He was 32.
"With dense hearts, we stock the heartbreaking quality of the passing of our beloved Ben, known to the satellite arsenic OG Maco," his household stated Friday. "His beingness was a testament to resilience, creativity, and boundless love. Through his music, passion, and unwavering spirit, helium touched truthful galore lives and near a lasting impact."
They continued, "While we grieve this immense loss, we besides observe the bonzer beingness helium lived—one that volition proceed to animate and uplift others. Maco's influence, some arsenic an creator and arsenic a person, volition stay everlastingly etched successful our hearts."
His household had antecedently shared Dec. 15 that helium was hospitalized successful captious but unchangeable information and they were "staying hopeful" arsenic helium continued to fight. They besides noted that the artist's authoritative societal media accounts would beryllium the "only root for valid information" for updates.
TMZ archetypal reported helium was hospitalized successful Los Angeles connected Dec. 12.
Tributes poured retired for the rapper from College Park, Ga., a subordinate of XXL's oft-prescient yearly Freshman Class of 2015 (alongside the likes of Gucci Mane and Vic Mensa) who had risen done the ranks of up-and-coming rappers.
"Rest successful bid to OG MACO," Ice Cube's lad O'Shea Jackson Jr. posted connected X. "You had to endure truthful overmuch man. I’m truthful fuckin atrocious dude. F--k."
While OG Maco released 2 workplace albums, 2021's The God of Rage and a 2023 self-titled LP, positive a slew of EPs and mixtapes, helium had suffered on the way.
He was injured successful a car mishap successful 2016, sharing photos from his infirmary furniture and posting, per HotNewHipHop, "Multiple skull fractures, breached orbital (surgery adjacent week), cracked vertebrae (surgery adjacent week) and bosom palpations. I consciousness ALIVE!!!"
"On the agleam side," helium added, "my integrative surgeon says I can’t get immoderate uglier truthful fixing my look should beryllium easy." (His Instagram relationship has been scrubbed but for immoderate pictures helium posted Nov. 2, captioned "TOXSIC," and his family's 2 statements.)
Referring to a clip successful his beingness erstwhile determination were chaotic rumors circulating astir his health, helium told Vlad TV successful November 2016 that he'd been "extremely depressed" and "suicidal connected apical of it."
"I'm going to beryllium precise honorable astir it," helium explained, "because of each the things that was being taken distant from me, I had done truthful much, I had innovated truthful much. I did it each by myself."
Feeling similar "absolutely nothing," it was "a unspeakable clip successful my life," helium continued. "I got existent cause dependent. I didn't privation to beryllium around, I didn't privation to person to woody with it. I conscionable wanted to marque my music, and adjacent if you perceive to my music, similar '15, was ace dark...The anticipation was kinda gone retired of my music."
He past shared successful 2019 on Instagram that helium was battling a achy "skin-eating disease" helium developed aft being "improperly treated for a insignificant rash."
"This is the champion it's looked," helium wrote alongside a photograph illustrating immoderate of what helium was going through. "I anticipation it gives idiosyncratic hope. I've been going done this unsocial 90% of the time, without the enactment of the idiosyncratic I love, without astir of my 'friends,' without thing but my ain spot and God."
Explaining wherefore nary 1 had heard from him for awhile connected societal media, helium acknowledged his information had led him into a depression.
"I was scared, I didn't cognize what was going to happen, I didn't cognize if I was going to suffer my full face... I astir did," helium shared successful a since-deleted video, per Complex. "My person told maine the different time that possibly I should stock what I've been going done alternatively of beating myself down for feeling however I felt astir it, which I wanted to dice a clump of days."
He concluded his message, "Once I travel retired of this, amended and much beauteous than ever, I privation you guys to beryllium ready... I'm gonna footwear ass."
If you oregon idiosyncratic you cognize needs help, telephone 988 to scope the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You tin besides telephone the network, antecedently known arsenic the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, astatine 800-273-8255, substance HOME to 741741 oregon sojourn SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for further resources.
