Chucky Thompson, Producer Behind Hits By Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige, Dies At 53

Chucky Thompson, an in-house producer of Diddy’s Bad Boy Records production team “The Hitmen” in the 1990s has died at age 53.

Thompson was behind numerous hits for hip-hop and R&B acts such as The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Nas, New Edition, Faith Evans, TLC, Usher, Snoop Dogg, Jennifer Lopez and others working as a composer or producer. His most notable hits included the Notorious B.I.G’s “Big Poppa,” Nas’ “One Mic,” and Faith Evans’ “You Used To Love Me.”

A statement made by his publicist Tamar Juda on Monday confirmed the producer’s death without disclosing the cause.

“It is with a very heavy heart that I can confirm the passing of Chucky Thompson,” Juda wrote.”To anyone in his orbit, you know how generous he was with his energy, creativity, and love. Both the music industry and the world has lost a titan.”

Thompson, whose breakthrough happened after being introduced to Diddy in the early 90s, ushered in a new era for the distinct sound of the New York Hip-Hop scene. He originally hailed from D.C. where he got his start playing congas for Chuck Brown’s legendary Go-Go band. Diddy at the time was looking to create his own label after being dropped from Motown Records and was impressed with Thompson’s beats.

At 24 years old, Thompson signed his first record deal with Diddy and immediately began working on Mary J. Blige’s 1996 album My Life. Thompson recalled in an interview with Grammys.com last month on the album’s Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album.

“At that particular time for everybody, it was crazy energy around. We were working on B.I.G.’s next project, Mary’s project, and not quite Faith Evans just yet, but she was in the room,” Thompson said. “Getting that Grammy nomination almost made me feel like anything was possible. It just solidified all of the things that were happening to me.”

Artists who collaborated with Thompson such as Sean Combs “Diddy,” Mary J. Blige and record executive and producer Young Guru paid tribute to the producer’s passing on Instagram.

“I’ve been in shock most of the day. Chucky Thompson was not just someone that I made Mary J Blige’s My Life with and a part of the legendary Hitmen, he was also one of the greatest humans that I’ve ever met,” Combs wrote. “He always kept you laughing, always kept you smiling and he always let you know that he loved you. I love you Chucky. One of the greatest of all time. You will be truly missed. 💔 Love, Puff.”