Bronx rapper Tim Dog, aka Timothy Blair, has died of a seizure caused by complications related to diabetes. He was 46.
Though he was originally affiliated with groups like Ultramagnetic MCs and KRS-One’s Boogie Down Productions, Dog was best known musically for “Fuck Compton,” a track from his 1991 solo debut Penicillin On Wax. “Fuck Compton” dissed the burgeoning West Coast gangsta scene in general and N.W.A. in particular, featuring shots at Dr. Dre, Eazy E, and Ice Cube. The track provoked lyrical responses from Compton’s Most Wanted, DJ Quik, and Dr. Dre himself (“Fuck Wit Dre Day”) that proved instrumental to the escalation of the 1990s East Coast/West Coast rap feud.
Though “Fuck Compton” was probably Tim Dog’s most important contribution to the history of hip-hop, Penicillin On Wax also included several early classics, including “Dog’s Gonna Getcha,” a hardcore track showcasing Dog’s gruff, growling flow that producer Blockhead referred to as “quite possibly the hardest song ever made.” Dog then released several solo albums and collaborated with Ultramagnetic MCs’ Kool Keith as the duo Ultra on the 1996 album Big Time, and as Project X on the 2009 record Project X: Iconic—the last studio album Dog released before his death.
Tim Dog most recently found himself in the news for pleading guilty to grand larceny, after being caught in a bizarre online dating scam that was featured on NBC’s Dateline. Dog reportedly bilked women he met on the Internet out of money he claimed to be using for a comeback album that never arrived.