Jax of Atlanta’s legendary indie hip-hop crew Binkis Recs suffered a heart attack while onstage at Lenny’s last night and was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital.
According to close friend and Binkis crew member Flux da Wondabat, Jax was performing the title track from his 2007 solo album, Sharper Images.
“He was performing onstage and he just passed out in the middle of his verse,” said Flux. “We went to the emergency room and then they came out and gave us the word.”
Formed in 1997, the Binkis Recs trio (Jax, Flux, Killa Kalm) quickly established itself as a true alternative to the commercial, crunk sound that defined Atlanta near the end of the millennium.
“Atlanta is weird because it’s two scenes,” N.Y. native Jax told CL in 2005. “It’s the natives and the transplants. And the scene that most people know — the OutKast and Ludacris — are all from here. A lot of us on the underground level are from somewhere else.”
The group’s name still speaks volumes — the acronym BINKIS stands for “Before Ignorant Niggas Killed Intelligent Songs.” They released several CDs, including 2003’s The Reign Begins. Though most failed to register commercially, their impact among Atlanta’s independent hip-hop scene is still felt.
“Binkis Recs paved the way for what a lot of younger Atlanta hip-hop musicians are able to do right now,” says former ATF Records label mate and friend, J-Mil of Collective Efforts. “A lot of people don’t even know that DJ Drama got his start with these brothers.”
While he was reminiscent of rap’s golden era, Jax believed in pushing music forward, as evidenced by these lyrics from the song “Shift,” featured on his ’07 release: “‘88 is not coming back/Nobody can replace Rakim or G. Rap/Slick Rick or Kane/’94’s gone/You can’t imitate Nas, Biggie or the Wu-Tang/It’s just not the same/What you should do is take lessons from the eras passed/The eras made/And apply it to your own era/Leave a legacy using your own lyrical weaponry.”
Jax had recently purchased a home with his fiancé, whom he planned to marry before year’s end.
“A lot of people forget what kind of sacrifices independent artists make in an attempt to give people options in music. Jax gave his life to the culture, and that’s a hard thing to do,” says J-Mil. “While I want to celebrate his life, I can’t help but miss the brother. I know I’m not alone.”
As for Flux and the Binkis Recs crew, “personally, he meant everything. He embodies what Binkis is; he was Binkis,” says Flux. “As far as hip-hop is concerned, that’s what Binkis is and what hip-hop is. We just continued on with the creativity and enjoyed doing it and having fun.”
ATLANTA (AP) — Def Jam Recordings says the executive that succeeded Jay-Z as the head of the legendary hip hop music label has died.
The New York City-based company said in a statement that executive vice president Shakir Stewart died on Saturday.
In Georgia, Cobb County Police Detective Bill Macauley says Stewart was taken Saturday afternoon to a suburban Atlanta hospital after suffering from a gunshot wound.
Police found Stewart after responding to a call of a shooting at an undisclosed address. No arrests or charges were made.
Neither police nor the county medical examiner’s office released how he died.
Stewart signed such artists as Rick Ross and Young Jeezy to the label before being named in June to the post once filled by Jay-Z.
Jax of Atlanta’s legendary indie hip-hop crew 