From the LA Times:
Rudy Ray Moore, the self-proclaimed "Godfather of Rap" who influenced generations of rappers and comedians with his rhyming style, braggadocio and profanity-laced routines, has died. He was 81.Moore, whose low-budget films were panned by critics in the 1970s but became cult classics decades later, died Sunday night in Toledo, Ohio, of complications from diabetes, his brother Gerald told the Associated Press.
Though he was little known to mainstream audiences, Moore had a significant effect on comedians and hip-hop artists.
"People think of black comedy and think of Eddie Murphy," rap artist Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew told the Miami Herald in 1997. "They don't realize [Moore] was the first, the biggest underground comedian of them all. I listened to him and patterned myself after him."
- Rudy Ray Moore official website
- Rudy Ray Moore Wikipedia entry
- Rudy Ray Moore IMDB entry
- Dolemite official website
- YouTube video: "Interview With The Great Rudy Ray Moore"
- YouTube video: "Rudy Ray Moore meets The Ubangis!"
- YouTube video: "The Badassery of Rudy Ray Moore"
