Rappers Killer Mike, Big Boi and André 3000 honor Rico Wade in Memorial Day post

Scott Flynn
·2 min read

Killer Mike spent the Memorial Day weekend with his “Dungeon Family.”

In a post on Instagram, Killer Mike, whose real name is Mike Render, wished André 3000 a happy birthday, who turned 49 on Monday, and shared a group photo with Big Boi, as well as other photos showing his reunion with the two at “The Dungeon.”

The post also included a tribute to the late music producer Rico Wade, who died last month at the age of 52.

In an exclusive interview with Channel 2′s Karyn Greer, Render got choked up speaking about his friend.

“He was the big brother that I needed. He was someone who challenged me, someone who encouraged me,” Render said.

Wade and members of his collectives, Organized Noize, Outkast, and Goodie Mob, introduced the world to music that put the spotlight on Atlanta. Killer Mike was part of that family.

Wade started creating beats with friends in the dungeon of his mother’s home, and while Render wasn’t there, he heard the stories.

“I didn’t have the courage to just pop up. But I knew guys in southwest Atlanta, whether it was Pretty Ken from the Attic Family, Sean Paul and J. Bo, you know, Pretty Ken, of course, was, you know, cousins with Sean Paul, but they’re affiliated you know, a new Cielo from the Goodie Mob seat was the first person from the Dungeon that really embraced me, you know what I mean? So, I knew those guys from afar, but I was a fan like everybody else,” said Render.

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The Dungeon home is now owned by Big Boi. The home is currently available for rent on Airbnb and says you can “Live like a Hip Hop Legend.

In his post Monday, Render paid tribute to Wade, saying “#RipRicoWade Fearless Leader and Visionary.”

Andre 3000 also helped close out the Atlanta Jazz Festival at Piedmont Park on Monday night, where he too paid tribute to Wade.

“Rico Wade made sure my raps were tight. There were times where I would say a rap to Rico in his ears, and he would walk off like, ‘That ain’t good enough.’ So just for a moment, I want y’all to make some noise for King Rico,” André 3000 told the crowd of thousands, Rollingout.com reported.

“Dungeon Family all day,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here on this stage or able to do any of this. I wouldn’t have the confidence to do any of this if it weren’t for Dungeon Family. They raised me. My family taught me how to dream. Taught me how to dream and go for it. Big Boi taught me how to dream, get at it and go for it. The Dungeon was the grounds for a lot of things. Our entire thing was to keep pushing, keep stretching out.”

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