Legendary rap and hip-hop trailblazer dead at 64: ‘Will not be forgotten’

Legendary rap and hip-hop trailblazer dead at 64: ‘Will not be forgotten’

Grandmaster Flash was among those paying respects.

Keith Keith, Funky 4 + 1 Pioneer Who Helped Bring Hip-Hop to ‘SNL,’ Dies at 64

Funky 4 + 1 performs “That’s the Joint” on “Saturday Night Live” on Feb. 14, 1981. Keith Caesar, known as Keith Keith, was 18 when the pioneering Bronx group made the landmark television appearance. Caesar died Aug. 21, 2026, at 64. (Screengrab/NBC)Keith Keith was 18 years old when hip-hop walked onto “Saturday Night Live” for the first time.He would turn 19 the next day.On Feb. 14, 1981, Blondie singer Debbie Harry introduced Funky 4 + 1 as som…

Keith Keith, Funky 4 + 1 Pioneer Who Brought Hip-Hop to National TV, Dies at 64

Keith Caesar, the Bronx MC known as Keith Keith and a founding member of the pioneering hip-hop group Funky 4 + 1, died on August 21, 2026, from medical complications. He was 64. Caesar was a lifelong Bronx resident, living at the Frederick Douglass Houses in Morris Heights at the time of his death. He […] The post Keith Keith, Funky 4 + 1 Pioneer Who Brought Hip-Hop to National TV, Dies at 64 appeared first on That Eric Alper.

Hip-Hop's Keith Caesar, Keith Keith of The Funky 4+1, Dead At 64

Hip-Hop lost another of our pioneers last week: Bronx rapper Keith Caesar, better known as MC Keith Keith of the Funky 4+1, who died at 64. News 12 The Bronx reported his death, describing him as a trailblazer from hip-hop’s earliest years. For Caesar, the culture was not yet an industry. It was a local movement taking shape through block parties, clubs and neighborhood performances. The Funky 4+1 emerged during hip-hop’s formative period and b…