blowfly passes away at 76

R.I.P. BLOWFLY: “The Original Dirty Rapper” Clarence Reid | Blowfly passes away at 76

by • January 18, 2016

Will’s Pub, Miami Legend, Blowfly passes away at 76 after spending the past week in Hospice care due to terminal liver cancer and multi-organ failure (via Facebook). Blowfly is best known as the godfather of “Dirty Rap” and “Parody Rap.” Born Clarence Henry Reid, he wrote and produced numerous songs for well known artists in the ’60s and ’70s, including KC & The Sunshine Band, Betty Wright, and Bobby Bird.  He also wrote sexually explicit versions of many hit songs and performed them for fun, only to his friends at parties or in the studio. In 1971, Clarence Reid released his first album under the moniker Blowfly, titled The Weird World of Blowfly.

Blowfly had a lot of success with his parody songs, but was eventually sued by former ASCAP president and signed away most of his royalties to cover expenses. Reid’s own compositions have been sampled by dozens of mainstream artists today, such as Beyonce, Wu Tang Clan, DJ Quik, DMX, Method Man & Redman, Main Source, DJ Shadow, Eazy-E, RJD2, Jurassic 5, Big Daddy Kane, Mary J. Blige, Brand Nubian, and the Avalanches, but has not received any monies due to signing away his royalties.

According to Blowfly’s Facebook, the strange superhero is set to gift us a final album this February, titled 77 Rusty Trombones. The post says, “It is easily his best album since the early 80s, and a fitting epitaph for one of the great performers of all time.”

Blowfly was featured in the 2012 documentary The Weird World of Blowfly, which is available on Netflix. The documentary takes you through Clarence’s weird world and features perspectives from influential artist the likes of Chuck D and Ice-T.

Do you want to go to Heaven or Hell?
“I wouldn’t give a fuck.
The only thing is … 
I wouldn’t want to go to heaven. 
The Bible said that would be boring to me.”

Shows I Go To had the amazing opportunity to catch Blowfly perform his last Orlando show, 2015 at Ralphfest 4 on the Will’s Pub stage. Read the Blowfly Live Review here and check out the photos from his very last Orlando performance below.

We will miss you, friend.

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Blowfly Passes Away at 76 article by Mitch, edited by Matthew Weller. 
Blowfly Concert Photos by Lindsay Tompkins.

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