RIP AND Maco, “U Guessed It” rapper

OG Maco — the rapper best known for his 2014 song “U Guessed It” — died this week in an apparent suicide. He was 32.

Last week, OG Maco’s (born Benedict Chiajulam Ihesiba Jr.) family told him he was in hospital in “critical but stable condition” on his Instagram page. Today they are shared the news of his death along with a tribute. “His life was a testament to resilience, creativity and boundless love. Through his music, passion and unwavering spirit, he touched so many lives and left a lasting impact,” they wrote.

OG Maco was born in 1992 in College Park, Georgia. In one interview with The fatherhe told me he was in a hardcore band called dr. Doctor with his friends growing up where he was lead singer and backup guitarist. “It was bloody amazing,” he said.

In 2014, he released his debut single, “U Guessed It”, which became a hit. The song currently has over 32 million streams on Spotify, and its remix, feat. 2 Chainz, peaked at 90 on Billboard Hot 100 chart.

He went on to found the hip-hop collective OGG and signed with Quality Control Music, an imprint of Motown and Capitol Records. He released several other records and mixtapes over the years, includingCount up,” his latest single, earlier this month.

AND Maco also struggled with his health over the years. He was in a near-fatal car accident in 2016 that left him with multiple injuries, and in 2019 he shared that he had been diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease, after being mistreated for a rash. “This is the best it’s looked. I hope it gives someone hope,” he wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post, sore Black. “I’ve been through this alone 90% of the time, without the support of the person I love, without most of my ‘friends’ with nothing but my own strength and God.”