Keith Caesar, the pioneering Bronx MC better known as Keith Keith, has died at 64.
Videos by Suggest
Caesar’s family said he died from medical complications on August 21.
Caesar helped establish hip-hop during the genre’s earliest years as a member of Funky 4 + 1, the influential Bronx collective that helped move rap from neighborhood parties and park jams onto commercial records and national television.
Born February 15, 1962, Caesar grew up in the Bronx with four siblings and remained a lifelong Bronx resident. He lived at the Frederick Douglass Houses in Morris Heights when he died.
Caesar joined Funky 4 + 1 during hip-hop’s formative period. The group included Sha-Rock, K.K. Rockwell, DJ Breakout and DJ Baron, with other members joining the lineup during its history.
Grandmaster Flash Paid An Emotional Tribute To Keith Caesar
News of Caesar’s death prompted tributes from figures who witnessed hip-hop’s earliest development. Grandmaster Flash remembered Caesar as one of the culture’s originators and said he had recently seen him and believed he was doing well.
“Rest in peace, you will not be forgotten,” Grandmaster Flash said in a Facebook post. “Life is too short; you gotta love every day that you can, because you never know…”
Funky 4 + 1 released “Rappin’ and Rocking the House” through Enjoy Records in 1979, helping establish its place in early recorded hip-hop. Funky 4 + 1 later signed with Sugar Hill Records and released “That’s the Joint” in 1980.
Caesar received a writing credit on “That’s the Joint,” which became one of the group’s best-known songs. The track continued to influence hip-hop decades after its release, with later artists sampling or incorporating elements of the record.
Funky 4 + 1 made history on February 14, 1981, when the group performed on “Saturday Night Live.” Debbie Harry, the Blondie frontwoman who hosted the episode, invited the group to appear. Their performance made Funky 4 + 1 the first hip-hop group to perform on national television.
Caesar leaves behind his brother Kevin Caesar, known as Caesar the Poet.