Gangsta Boo: Three 6 Mafia member and southern rap trailblazer dies aged 43

Musicians from Missy Elliott to Questlove have paid tribute to the trailblazing female rapper, who was 15 when she appeared on the Memphis group’s cult classic debut Mystic Stylez

Gangsta Boo, a former member of Memphis rap group Three 6 Mafia, has died aged 43, her bandmate DJ Paul has confirmed. No cause of death was shared.

The rapper, born Lola Chantrelle Mitchell, joined the group in 1995, upon which it changed its name from Triple Six Mafia to Three 6 Mafia. That year she appeared on their debut album, Mystic Stylez, which became a cult classic, a landmark southern hip-hop record and – with lyrics delving into gore and the occult – a defining example of the horrorcore genre.