Fresh Ice Kid has died. The founding member of 2 Live Crew, whose real name is Chris Wong Won, passed away in Miami on Thursday morning, according to TMZ. He had been in the hospital due to an undisclosed medical condition. He was just 53 years old.
Fresh Kid Ice was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. He moved to the United States with his family at the age of 12. After graduating high school, he joined the U.S. Air Force. It was during this time that he met Amazing Vee and Mr. Mixx. Together, they formed the rap group 2 Live Crew, according to IMDb, and started their own record label called “Fresh Beat Records.” Fresh Kid Ice left the Air Force after four years and pursued his career in music.
Fresh Kid Ice and the other 2 Live Crew members moved to Miami in the mid-80s. The guys were very popular in Florida and did a lot of shows in the southern city.
Their most successful album, “As Nasty As They Wanna,” was released in 1989. The most popular song off of that album — and the one that most people identify with the group — “Me So Horny,” may have been one of the reasons that the album went Double Platinum.
The group had some issues with Atlantic Records that caused them to breakup after releasing their last single back in 2014. During an appearance on the Murder Master Music Show, Fresh Kid Ice explained the reasons behind the split.
“What really broke 2 Live Crew up was when the deal came to Atlantic. Because basically we did three albums, right? Two gold and one double platinum without a contract…When the money was coming from Atlantic we had to sign contacts back-dating our contracts, you understand? Stating that we was with this label this time, so the money that was supposed to have been for the group went to the company. Which we felt later on we were bamboozled. And that’s what really broke 2 Live Crew up. 2 Live Crew could have had a longer run,” he explained.
You can listen to his interview in the video below.
In 2015, Fresh Kid Ice released an autobiography titled My Rise to Fame.
In 2016, Fresh Kid Ice sat down for an interview with Vibe in which he talked about becoming a sex symbol.
“Girls always took a particular liking to me because I was different. I looked different—and instead of complaining, I used that to my advantage,” he told the outlet.