Rapper and actor Reggie Gibson, who performed under the names Saafir, Mr. No No, The Shaft Sizzle, and The Saucee Nomad, died on Nov. 19. He was 50; no cause of death was announced. He began performing in the mid-90s, and palled around the other West Coast rap/hip-hop artists (including Tupac Shakur). In 1994 he performed in a rap battle with the Oakland group Hobo Junction crew against singer Casual and members of the Hieroglyphics Crew (a hip-hop group). Gibson recorded five albums; he also acted, in Menace II Society, Living Single, The Guardian, CSI: Miami, Dead Body, and other vehicles. Rock writer Steve Juon said of Gibson, “The thing that bothers me about the lack of respect on Saafir’s name is how much he advanced the craft of lyricism. Listening to songs like ‘Stay Hi’ the fluid nature of his rap style is immediately obvious. Saafir is neither ‘on beat’ nor off with his bars. He somehow manages to be both at the exact same time. Producer JZ gives Saafir hard bass but keeps it well underneath the vocals so you can hear the nearly stream-of-consciousness delivery of Mr. Gibson.”
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