The hip-hop world is mourning the loss of avant-garde rapper Colin Julius Bobb, known to deep-cut experimental hip-hop fans as Sensational.
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The artist’s frequent collaborator, Madteo, broke the news of the rapper’s death in a heartfelt Instagram post on Aug. 11.
“In a stupor, absolutely gutted that my brother from another mother, the OG Freak Styler / Inspector, is gone. I cant believe it,” he wrote alongside a track from the duo.
Madteo didn’t disclose the cause of death for the 51-year-old.
Born in Guyana in 1974, Bobb was raised in Brooklyn, per Resident Advisor. He first hit the rap scene as a dancer called Torture before picking up the microphone. He eventually caught the attention of hip-hop producer Bill Laswell, who introduced the rising rapper to Spectre and the New York underground label WordSound. Boob soon took on the stage name of Sensational, though he also adopted the moniker of Perfection.
His 1997 debut album, Loaded With Power, became a favorite for listeners looking for experimental beats outside of a hip-hop scene still dominated by so-called gangsta rap. From there, Bobb became a frequent collaborator with other artists. Resident Advisor lists a deep bench of rappers Bobb became a featured player alongside, including Kid 606, Japanese experimentalist Kouhei Matsunaga, and DJ Sotofett.
A 2010 documentary, The Rise and Fall and Rise of Sensational, detailed the rapper’s later struggles with substance abuse and homelessness.
Fans React to the Passing of Rapper Sensational
Meanwhile, fans of the cult rapper took to social media to pay tribute in the wake of his death.
“I saw him live with spectre, was a fan of both and wordsound label in general, also the stuff he was doing with kouhei…this is sad news, rip,” one fan wrote in a Reddit thread about the artist’s passing.
“Highly recommend 1997’s Loaded With Power to anyone interested. A proper lo-fi marvel made with little more than a boombox and headphones repurposed as a mic,” another fan wrote. “Jesus that’s awful, he was incredible when in the flow,” a third fan added.
Meanwhile, another hip-hop fan realized there was a wealth of material from Bobb to enjoy.
“I just looked at his Discogs page, he has so many collaborations I didn’t know about, and he even appeared on a few records I have in my collection without realizing,” they wrote.