More than a year after reports of his passing in 2013, Dateline NBC has confirmed the death of Timothy Blair, commonly known as Tim Dog. Last year, The Source reported the rapper’s death but a lack of documentation and a previous grand larceny charge fueled rumors that he faked his own death to avoid another arrest warrant and further prosecution for lingering scams.
Earlier this week, Dateline NBC published a report including the rapper’s death certificate and news of his last days. Dateline reports that Tim Dog was likely “treated at Atlanta Medical Center before being discharged to Hospice Atlanta.” The article adds that “no paperwork was filed in the county where Blair was widely believed to be living—because death records are filed in the county of death; and no one except close family, friends and carers knew where the former rapper lived—and died.” The “Fuck Compton” emcee died at Hospice Atlanta on February 14, 2013 according to the site.
The included death certificate, which lists Blair as a “music producer” in the entertainment business, confirms that Tim Dog was 46 at the time of his death. Dateline also reports that the rapper’s cremation was paid for by the county.
Prior to the release of his 1991 debut album Penicillin on Wax, Tim Dog featured on Ultramagnetic MCs songs like “A Chorus Line” and would later form a duo with Kool Keith. Last year, Kool Keith reacted to news of Tim Dog’s passing in an interview with HipHopDX. “Tonight, I really thought it was a publicity stunt,” he said of the news. “It still hasn’t [sunk] in my system. I don’t know. I still can’t believe this happened. Once I get with the group, we’ll all really feel it more.”
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“I’m just doing my condolences, but I still can’t believe,” he later said. “I’m still thinking this is a stunt, ’cause Tim was usually good with stunts. But like you said, it’s real, and I understand his health conditions and stuff like that.”
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