Kool G Rap has shared a moving tribute to his collaborator DJ Polo, who recently died at age 63.
Kool G looked back on his relationship with his dearly departed friend in an essay for Rolling Stone that went live on Thursday (August 8).
In the feature, the former Juice Crew rapper remembered his collaborator fondly. As Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, they released three studio albums: 1989’s Road to the Riches and 1990’s Wanted: Dead or Alive; and one compilation.
“I looked up to him because he was that dude in the hood,” Kool G explained. “Even though he wasn’t known to be the craziest DJ ever, he was still Polo. Everybody knew that name. But with Polo came DJ Smalls, Disco Twins, [and] a whole bunch of other names, because he was affiliated with all them.”
The “Fast Life” rapper continued: “I looked up to Polo as far as being a name in the hip-hop game at that time, having the ability to get a record out there early. I’m honored to this day that my career happened to come into fruition through Eric B. and then Polo, and then Marley Marl, and then Juice Crew.
“Polo, he was a true friend of mine. He was a brother of mine. I loved him. And one thing monumental that he did, other than bringing himself to the world, [is bringing] Kool G Rap to everybody. It happened because of Polo. [He was] one of the most realest, down-to-earth, humblest and funniest dudes a person could ever know. And I know I speak for a lot of cats that got to know Polo, personally. They would agree.”
The legendary DJ passed away early in the morning on July 27, though a cause of death was not revealed.
One of the first to publicly morn Polo was DJ Chuck Chillout, who took to Instagram and Facebook with a simple tribute in which he captioned a photo of his deceased friend and colleague with: “This Hurt real Bad RIP To DJ POLO.”
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Others soon joined in with tributes of their own, including Ice-T and Eric B., who wrote: “My brother DJ POLO we had some great times you will never be forgotten GODS speed,” alongside of a photo of the late DJ.
Eric B.’s post garnered comments from the like of E-40, DJ Green Lantern, DJ Scratch, DITC’s Buckwild, DJ Spinderella and Pete Rock, who wrote: “Gotdamn man slow da f%#k down jesus christ lemme breathe.”
Fellow Juice Crew member Big Daddy Kane also share a tribute, writing: “Gone but not forgotten Cuz!!! JUICE CREW FOR LIFE!”
