Chucky Thompson, one of the producers for Bad Boy Records’ legendary production team “The Hitmen” has passed away reportedly due to COVID-19. On Monday Young Guru broke the news while paying homage to Thompson – who paved the way for his career.
A native of Washington DC, Thompson got his start playing for Chuck Brown’s legendary go-go band, The Soul Searchers, before joining “The Hitmen”. There, he worked with New Edition, Tevin Campbell, Mary J. Blige, Usher and TLC and more. He also produced hits including “Big Poppa” by The Notorious B.I.G., Craig Mack’s “Flava in Ya Ear,” Faith Evans’ “Soon As I Get Home,” and Nas’ “One Mic.”
Outside of music, Thompson also made a documentary about the Tuskegee Airmen that aired on the History Channel, and he was working on a film about his life and the Go-Go music scene in Washington D.C. titled Chucky Thompson Presents D.C. Go-Go.
“We’re working on my documentary, Chucky Thompson Presents D.C. Go-Go. It’s not the go-go music story; it’s my story with go-go music,” he told Grammy.com in July. “A lot of people don’t understand the music. They don’t even know what it takes to make a go-go record. I got a segment based on the music, another based on the movement where it’s been deemed the official music of the city, that process, and how it got there. That’s very important for our city. Last part is the mainstay: what happens in the city versus mainstream. I just want to put the flag down for my city and let them know we’re about to expose some things.”
Since the tragic news of passing became known, there has been an overwhelming number of tributes from friends, family, colleagues, and supporters all across social media. Condolences to Chucky Thompson and all of whom he inspired.
See some of the tributes below.
