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A Tribute to Big Syke who passed away today.

The rapper who helped people picture Tupac rollin' has joined 2Pac again.

Big Syke was found at his home in Hawthorne, CA late Monday night. Law enforcement sources tell us cops responded first to a call to the scene, and then the L.A. County Coroner arrived. No foul play is suspected.

Sources close to the situation tell us Syke -- real name Tyruss Himes -- is believed to have died from natural causes. We're told he had a history of heart issues and obesity.

Big Syke was a longtime friend of Tupac, and dropped verses on a bunch of his tracks, such as "All Eyez on Me," "Picture Me Rollin'" and "Check Out Time." He was also a member of Tupac's Thug Life group.
He was 48.

Tupac left behind a long list of musical friends when he left this earth in the physical form. However, not everyone he recorded with shared the same relationship with him. Rapper Big Syke was one of the few collaborators who Pac considered a true friend.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ that police responded first to a call to the home, and then the Los Angeles County Coroner arrived. No foul play is suspected in Big Syke’s case, as sources “close to the situation” tell TMZ that it’s likely he died of natural causes, and he’s had a history of heart issues and obesity.

Big Syke was a member of 2Pac’s Thug Life crew, and then he went on to become one of the original 10 members of the Outlawz. He collaborated on classic tracks with Pac including “All Eyez on Me,” “Check Out Time,” “When We Ride” and “Picture Me Rollin.” When he was with the Outlawz, Big Syke went by the moniker Moozaliny, while Pac entered his Makaveli stage.

Prior to his work with Pac, Syke was in a rap group called Evil Mind Gangstas with MCs Domino and Mental Illness. They formed the group in 1990, and the year after, Pac dropped his debut album 2Pacalypse Now, which was released on vinyl last month.

"I met him [Tupac] actually through a guy named Surge," Syke said in 2009. "Surge’s cousin Wattani was actually Tupac’s manager at the time. And Surge brought him to the hood, my neighborhood ya know and we hooked up. Surge use to play on my music, so he [Tupac] liked my music so we started hangin’ out and after that we became friends and the next thing ya know we were on tour."

But in his later years, he didn't want to be known as just a rapper. He also worked on scripts and tried to start a clothing line. "Oh yea, ya know to be a real entrepreneur you gotta diversify, you gotta put money in other places," he added. "It's about creating jobs for other people to, ya know being a rapper you got your little clique you drive with but if they don’t have a job then they're going to be constantly asking you for money. So you have to create things that make people money."

Now the rap community is paying tribute to Big Syke after his death. That includes his former Outlawz groupmate Mutah "Napoleon" Beale.

This is one of Big Syke's verses that will ensure that we will never forget him:

I got ki's comin' from overseas
Cost a nigga 200 G's
I'm a street commando, Nino for example
This lavish lifestyle is hard to handle
So I got to floss cause I'm more like a boss player
Thug, branded to be a women-layer
So many player haters, imitators steady swangin'
Make me wanna start back bangin'
So I'm caught up in the game, dress code changed
Packin' 40 Glocks, contain 'em or rearrange
All that jealousy and envy comin' from my enemies
While I'm sippin' on Rémy
In front of black Lexus, Chevy's on the roam
'96 big body, sittin' on chrome
As we head up out the zone, stone-facin' is on
You can admire, but don't look too long
I'm livin' a dream with triple beams and my pockets bulgin'
It's hard to imagine
Picture me rollin' - Big Syke
#hiphopuniverse #hiphopspecials

Hip-Hop Universe Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNxrdTjgEbxx3Dp3HVCp06r03jCdaoaYA


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