American rapper Fatman Scoop has reportedly died after falling asleep during a performance in Connecticut on Friday night.

The New York-born artist, whose real name is Isaac Freeman III, was headlining the so-called Green & Gold Party in Hamden, Connecticut, when he suffered a medical emergency. In a video posted to X, he was seen collapsing behind the DJ booth after urging concertgoers to “make some noise.”

The 53-year-old rapper — best known for his collaborations with Missy Elliott and Ciara on the 2005 hit Lose Control and on Mariah Carey’s It’s Like That — was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Fatman Scoop had an early hit in the UK and Ireland when a reissue of Be Faithful – produced by American hip-hop duo Crooklyn Clan – topped the charts in 2003. It reached the top 10 in Australia and Denmark.

The song, a mashup of Faith Evans’ Love Like This – which itself is built around a repeated sample of Chic’s 1978 Chic Cheer – took years to receive wide release because it contained numerous additional samples.

Fatman Scoop has worked with a number of other prominent artists, including Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston. In 2004, he was recruited to back six British musicians in the British TV series Chancers. He also appeared in the anime series The Boondocks and opened his own ice cream parlour.

His death comes 13 months after Houston rapper Big Pokey died after collapsing on stage at a bar in Beaumont, Texas, the musician’s publicist said. The rapper, best known as part of the Screwed Up Click collective, was 48.

Of the most famous big rap stars of the 1990s, including Big Punisher, only Fat Joe remains.