Hip-Hop lost another of our pioneers last week: Bronx rapper Keith Caesar, better known as MC Keith Keith of the Funky 4+1, who died at 64.
News 12 The Bronx reported his death, describing him as a trailblazer from hip-hop’s earliest years.
For Caesar, the culture was not yet an industry. It was a local movement taking shape through block parties, clubs and neighborhood performances.
The Funky 4+1 emerged during hip-hop’s formative period and became one of its pioneering groups. In 1981, the group made television history on “Saturday Night Live.”
Introduced by Debbie Harry, the group became the first hip-hop act to perform on the program. The Valentine’s Day appearance exposed early rap music to a national audience.
The moment arrived when hip-hop remained largely outside mainstream television. The Funky 4+1 helped widen the culture’s reach.
MC Keith Keith Of The Legendary Hip-Hop Group The Funky 4+1 Dies At 64
AllHipHop.com said Caesar and the group “helped build something that changed music” during the late 1970s.
Grandmaster Flash, another figure from hip-hop’s foundational era, mourned Caesar in a social media tribute.
“I do this video in sadness because one of our originators from the beginning of the culture Keith Caesar of the Funky 4 has passed away,” Flash said.
“I’m really speechless at this point,” he added. “I just recently seen him, and he was OK.”
Flash said Caesar’s death offered a painful reminder of life’s uncertainty.
“The old saying, ‘Life is too short,’” Flash said. “You gotta love everyday that you can because you never know.”
He then offered a final tribute to his fellow hip-hop pioneer.
“Keith Caesar from the Funky 4, rest in peace,” Flash said. “You will not be forgotten.”
Tony Santiago pointed to the group’s lasting influence on language and culture.
“Backhandedly that group created a word that has become common slang in the Philly area, JAWN,” Santiago wrote. “Taken from ‘That’s the Joint.’ Rest in peace.”
Judah Israel, a 72-year-old former Brooklyn DJ, remembered the group’s music.
“I’m 72 years of age, and was a DJ out of Bed-Sty Brooklyn,” Israel wrote. “This is one of my favorite groups.”
“I rocked [them] on the wheel of steel,” he added. “RIP my brother.”
Keith Keith is survived by his brother, Kevin Caesar, of the Bronx.
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