Rico Wade 🕊️ 1972-2024

the Southern hip hop icon was an influencer before "influencers"

Rico Wade of the foundational Atlanta production team Organized Noize has died. He was 52. Organized Noize is the soul of the Dungeon Family collective (OutKast, Goodie Mob, Killer Mike and more). Wade was one of the central imagineers and builders of Southern hip hop and modern Southern pop.

And that’s far from all.

Wade and his Organized Noize cohort also co-wrote and produced TLC’s Hot 100-topping, Record of the Year-nominated smash “Waterfalls,” one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

in fact, per Rolling Stone:

TLC’s T-Boz was in part responsible for the formation of Organized Noize, as revealed in a 2016 documentary The Art of Organized Noize. Other hits crafted by the production team include En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go.”

And as per Billboard:

Without Rico Wade, the world may have never experienced The Dungeon Family, OutKast, Goodie Mob, Future and many more. Rico left an indelible mark on music and culture around the world and for that, the South will always have somethi…