Sean Price Memorial Mural Goes Up in Brooklyn; Rapper's Posthumous Mixtape to Drop Aug. 21

Image courtesy of @steph_bmore/Instagram.

NYC street artist Meres One drew a crowd at Bergen Street and Kingston Avenue in Weeksville, Brooklyn, on Sunday as he painted tribute to Sean Price, the 43-year-old Brownsville rapper who passed away in his sleep on Friday night.

The aerosol-on-brick mural is a bust of Price, detailed with his signature beard and scowl.

In the background, a beam of light shines from heaven onto the Brooklyn Bridge. And a lyric runs above Price’s forehead: “Use your head for more than a hat rack.”

Price’s wife, Bernadette, with whom he has three kids, reportedly came out to the mural site to greet her late husband’s friends, fans and supporters.

The rapper’s label, Duck Down Music, released the following statement on Saturday as part of a crowdfunding campaign to support Bernadette and the kids.

It is with beyond a heavy heart that Duck Down Music is sadly confirming that Sean Price passed away in his Brooklyn apartment, Saturday, August 8th, 2015. The cause of death is currently unknown, but it was reported that he died in his sleep. He’s survived by his wife, and his three children. Sean Price, who turned 43 in March of this year, was a beloved rap artist. He was 1/2 of the group Heltah Skeltah, a key member of the Boot Camp Clik, 1/3 of the group Random Axe and a successful solo artist, known simply as Sean Price. Funds are being raised to direclty assist Sean Price’s family moving forward.

The label also had some good news for its grieving community: Price’s upcoming mixtape, Songs in the Key of Price, which the rapper had been teasing on social media before he died, is still set to drop on Aug. 21.

“It will be available only via CD retailers and the digital version will only be available via duckdown.com” says Duck Down Music on Facebook. “We will make formal announcements soon.”

Hundreds of tributes written for Price over the weekend painted him as the unofficial mayor of Brownsville, Brooklyn.

From Peter Rubin’s moving obit in Complex Magazine:

“Hip-hop changed around him, as it did around anyone with the talent or sheer willpower to stay relevant. P didn’t get caught up, though. The jeans stayed baggy, the Polo stayed on, and he stayed in Brownsville. He embraced his image as an unappreciated journeyman — ’the brokest rapper you know’ was his preferred phrase — and Brooklyn (and the Internet) in turn embraced him.”

Peter Rosenberg, an influential hip-hop radio host based in NYC, played an hour-long set devoted to Price at midnight on Sunday.

An emotional Rosenberg called the rapper ”one of the most loved guys in Brooklyn,” “a pivotal part of the New York scene,” ”one of the great MCs of all time” and ”one of my favorites — ever.”