New Orleans bounce music lost one of its earliest stars with the death of Willie Puckett Jr. The rapper, dancer, and longtime nightlife fixture died May 3 after suffering respiratory failure linked to cancer. He was 50.
Raised in the city’s 10th Ward and the former St. Thomas projects, Puckett became a defining face of New Orleans bounce during the genre’s explosive rise in the 1990s. Before stepping into music, he built his reputation as an electrifying dancer.
His performances alongside DJ Jubilee and the group Da’ Sha Ra’ turned him into a local celebrity. Fans packed clubs across the city to watch his high-energy routines and signature “trip out” dance moves.
NOLA Legend Willie Puckett Jr, Million Dollar HotBoy & DJ Jubilee Collaborator, Dead At 50
DJ Jubilee even shouted Puckett out in lyrics, a reflection of the dancer’s influence within bounce culture. “He brought energy everywhere he went,” one fan wrote online following news of his death.
Another tribute called him “a true New Orleans original.”
By the late ’90s, Puckett evolved from dancer to recording artist after signing with Take Fo’ Records, the influential Southern rap imprint behind artists including Choppa, Big Freedia and 5th Ward Weebie. He debuted with the 1997 EP Doggie Hopp, whose title track inspired its own dance craze.
In 1998, he released Million Dollar HotBoy, a bounce-heavy project featuring DJ Jubilee, K.C. Redd and singer Lisa Amos. Though Puckett never dropped another full-length album, he remained active in New Orleans nightlife for decades. In 2025, he appeared on the bounce-focused NOLA Live Cruise from New Orleans to Cozumel.
Social media quickly filled with tributes after his passing. “Rest easy legend,” Choppa posted. “New Orleans bounce will never forget Willie Puckett Jr.”
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