The cause of death of former Three 6 Mafia member Gangsta Boo has been revealed after she died earlier this year.
The rapper was found unresponsive at her Memphis home on New Year’s Day, and pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy report has now said that the cause of death was an accidental overdose, with fentanyl, cocaine, and ethanol (alcohol), found in her system, according to Action News 5.
Born in 1979 in Memphis, Tennesee, Boo – real name Lola Mitchell – began writing poetry as a child, later turning to music after her father bought her a keyboard and a karaoke machine. In high school, her efforts caught the attention of classmate DJ Paul, who, as Mitchell told Passion of the Weiss in 2012, “wanted me to get on his mixtape, so I got on his mixtape and I became really popular.”
Having adopted the Gangsta Boo moniker, Mitchell joined Three 6 Mafia on a full-time basis, recording her first verses as a member for the group’s debut album Mystic Stylez when she was 15. Arriving in 1995, the album bought Southern rap to international acclaim.
From there, Boo remained an important contributor to Three 6 Mafia’s horrorcore sound, rapping on albums such as 1996’s Chapter 1: The End, 1997’s Chapter 2: World Domination, 1999’s Tear Da Club Up Thugs, and 2000’s When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1. In 1998, Boo broke out as a solo artist in her own right with her debut effort, Enquiring Minds, which included the hit single ‘Where Dem Dollas At?’ featuring Juicy J and DJ Paul. She was 19 at the time.
Following the release of Three 6 Mafia’s Choices: The Album in 2001, Boo left the band to pursue her solo career, dropping her second album, Both Worlds *69, that same year. In the 2000s, she released tracks with the likes of Lil Jon, E-40, Outkast and Gucci Mane. More recently, she’s worked with Run The Jewels, Blood Orange and Yelawolf. In December 2022, she revealed she was working on a project titled BooPrint, slated for 2023.
After the news of her death broke, a list of prominent artists paid tribute to Boo. “I normally don’t post screenshots but the fact that she reached out to me before anybody else had a clue who I was…she always supported me & the girls way back before we blew up,” younger Memphis rapper Glorilla wrote. “A REAL LEGEND there will never be another Gangsta Boo.”
