Rapper Kangol Kid From UTFO Hip-Hop Group Dies at 55

By Tadi Abedje Published: December 20, 2021

Rapper Kangol Kid From UTFO Hip-Hop Group Dies at 55

In Summary

He was a key contributor to his famous 1984 single called “Roxanne, Roxanne.”

Kangol Kid, who was famously known as a rapper in the famed group UTFO, passed away on Saturday in a hospital in Manhasset, New York, according to The New York Times.

According to his publicist Lion Lindwedel, the cause of his death was due to complications of colon cancer.

Kangol Kid was born as Shaun Shiller Fequiere to Haitian parents on Aug. 10, 1966, in Brooklyn. He got his nickname not because of the success he eventually had, but because of the Kangol hats he wore, the Times reported.

He started as a breakdancer with a neighborhood friend, Doctor Ice, and they were known as the Keystone Dancers. They toured with the 1980s rap group Whodini.

Kangol Kid, along with Doctor Ice, Educated Rapper and Mix Master Ice created the hip-hop group called Untouchable Force Organization, better known as UTFO in the early 1980s. At times, the group called itself as the “Village People of rap” because of its members’ identities.

In 1984, Kangol Kid’s famous single called “Roxanne, Roxanne” was released and it went No. 10 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. The song was about three men getting turned down by the same woman, Roxanne.

After the UTFO era came to an end, Kangol Kid would go on to produce for other artists such as the group Whistle and baseball legend Darryl Strawberry, who recorded a song called “Chocolate Strawberry.”

In February, he wass diagnosed with colon cancer and battled it for 10 months before he lost his life. According to the Times, Kangol Kid is survived by his parents, three brothers, four children and seven grandchildren.