Juice Crew Alum T.J. Swan—Rap’s “First Crooner”—Has Died

Photo credit: DJ Cool V

According to fellow Juice Crew member Roxanne Shante, acclaimed singer T.J. Swan has passed away.

His family also confirmed the news on his official Instagram account, confirming he died on Friday morning (November 22).

T.J. Swan’s contributions helped shape the sound of 1980s Hip-Hop as one of the first crooners to appear on some of the biggest records of the day.

According to MC Shan, T.J. Swan was brought into The Juice Crew through Biz Markie.

Thanks to T.J. Swan’s vocals, MC Shan (“Left Me Lonely”) and Biz Markie (“Make The Music With Your Mouth Biz” and “Nobody Beats the Biz”) found massive success as collaborators.

According to legend, T.J. Swan recorded a full album with Juice Crew producer Marley Marl, but the release never saw the light of day for unknown reasons.

In 2019, T.J. Swan revealed he was working on a documentary about the origins of Hip-Hop in the Queensbridge housing projects called “The Lost Tribe of QB.”

The news of T.J. Swan’s passing sparked an outpouring of grief from a number of well-known Hip-Hop stars, including Jazzy Jeff, Killer Mike, Posdnuos of De La Soul and Big Gipp, who was featured on Nelly’s#### song “Grillz” with Paul Wall and Ali, which incorporated a piece of TJ Swan’s hook from MC Shan’s “Left Me Lonely.”