Fatman Scoop’s cause of death was heart disease, according to the medical examiner.
The 53-year-old rapper collapsed onstage while performing at Hamden Town Center Park in Connecticut — just north of New Haven — on Aug. 30. Paramedics performed CPR at the scene and he was taken to a nearby hospital where he died.
The Connecticut medical examiner’s office said Wednesday that the hip-hop artist, born Isaac Freeman III, was hypertensive and had atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The manner of death was ruled natural.
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease refers to conditions caused by plaque building up along arterial walls, including heart attacks and angina, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).
Hypertensive heart disease is a condition caused by chronic high blood pressure, which — if left untreated — can lead to heart failure, arrhythmia, stroke and sudden cardiac death, per the AHA.
Sharron Elkabas, the CEO of the rapper’s PR firm, told The Hollywood Reporter shortly after his death that the performer “had an energy drink before going onstage. He never drank energy drinks, but he did before this show.”
Freeman “was a wonderful performer with a wide following as evidenced by the thousands of fans that came to see what would be his last performance,” Hamden Mayor Lauren Garrett said in a release after his death.
Fatman Scoop was known for his single “Be Faithful,” which topped charts in Europe in the 2000s and collaborations with Missy Elliott, Mariah Carey and others.
