One of the founding members of 2 Live Crew, rapper Fresh Kid Ice, died in Miami, according to reports on Thursday, July 13. He was 53.
Fresh Kid Ice, born Christopher Wong Won, died of a medical condition, TMZ reported. He helped form the rap group along with DJ Mr. Mixx and Amazing Vee in 1984.
Before he was a part of the rap group and getting into music, he served in the U.S. Air Force. The New York Daily News reported that Fresh Kid Ice was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in 1964 and moved to Brooklyn in 1977.
One of the former leaders of 2 Live Crew, Uncle Luke, tweeted his condolences. “My Condolence goes out to the family Chris Wong Wong Fresh Kid Ice of the 2 Live Crew who just passed away people we lost a legend,” he wrote.
Fresh Kid Ice was the only member of 2 Live Crew to appear on every one of the group’s LPs.
In the late 1980s, the group courted controversy with its most popular album, “As Nasty As They Wanna Be.” It was deemed legally obscene by the U.S. government before the group embarked on a legal battle. The group’s next album was titled, “Banned in the USA.” In 1992, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned the obscene label.
In 1990, members of 2 Live Crew were arrested for obscenity after performing songs at a concert. They were later acquitted of the charges. According to History.com: “The publicity from the trial prompted a national debate on what type of music was appropriate for children, and the U.S. Senate even held a hearing on music lyrics. Major record companies responded by voluntarily agreeing to place stickers on albums containing explicit lyrics.”
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