He's alive!
Bronx rapper Tim Dog died Feb. 14, 2013, from a diabetes-related seizure, according to several sources, including Billboard, Complex Music and Stereogum.
Tim Dog became famous in the 90s for collaborating with Ultramagnetic MCs and starting an all-out rap battle between the East Coast and West Coast. The "[Expletive] Compton" hitmaker's obituary made the rounds in February, and he was thought to be dead and gone at 46.
But Esther Pilgrim, a woman swindled by Tim Dog, has come forward with claims that the rapper, whose real name is Timothy Blair, may not be dead yet.
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Blair was convicted of grand larceny and ordered him to pay Pilgrim $19,000 for defrauding her in a scheme to take money from people he met on dating sites. Pilgrim says she has since been contacted by 20 other victims -- and with the faked death, this may be his greatest fraud scheme yet.
Hernando prosecutor Steven Jubera, who initially convicted Blair, said it's time to determine where Blair really is.
"I need proof," Jubera said. "I need a death certificate showing that he's dead, because as far as I'm concerned, he's alive." WREG in Memphis sent reporter Sabrina Hall and a private investigator to confirm Blair's supposed death. Neither was able to find a death certificate or official records showing that he died.
Publications that reported his death had few details on his actual death, and his obituary listed neither a place of death or place of burial. Ced Gee, a rap colleague, skipped the funeral because Blair's family could not provide a death certificate.
A warrant is out for his arrest, but Jubera said he would drop the warrant if Blair's family can show valid proof of his death. If he is alive, they plan to prosecute him.
Just two days after his reported death, collaborator Kool Keith said that he thought the death was a hoax.
“Tonight, I really thought it was a publicity stunt. It still hasn’t [sunk] in my system,” he told Hip Hop DX. “I’m still thinking this is a stunt, 'cause Tim was usually good with stunts. But like you said, it’s real, and I understand his health conditions and stuff like that.”
