Chucky Thompson, one of the producers on Bad Boy Records’ Hitmen team, died, his publicist confirmed to Billboard on August 9. “To anyone in his orbit, you know how generous he was with his energy, creativity, and love,†wrote Tamar Juda, Thompson’s publicist. “Both the music industry and the world has lost a titan.†Thompson was a fixture of Bad Boy since its inception, after meeting founder Puff Daddy around the time he left Uptown Records. He worked with many of the label’s biggest artists, helming hits like Notorious B.I.G.’s “Big Poppa†and Faith Evans’s “You Used to Love Me.†Shortly after his arrival at Bad Boy, Thompson was tapped to produce Mary J. Blige’s second album My Life, including her signature ballad “I’m Going Downâ€; the album was nominated for Best R&B Album at the Grammys. Outside Bad Boy, Thompson worked closely with Nas, producing his Phil Collins–sampling hit “One Mic†among other songs. His résumé also includes Usher, Ice Cube, TLC, Ledisi, and Ne-Yo.
Update August 17, 8:00 p.m.: Thompson’s publicist confirmed that Thompson’s cause of death was COVID-19, per the New York Times.