The Last Mr. Bigg, Influential Alabama Rapper, Has Died

Rapper The Last Mr. Bigg from Mobile, Ala., has died, according to Al.com. Born Donald Maurice Pears, he was in his early 40s and reportedly died in his sleep sometime Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.

Seen as possibly the most influential rapper to come out of Mobile, Bigg developed a passionate independent following starting in the 1990s. He released two albums on Warlock Records and was featured on Three 6 Mafia's 2006 single "Poppin' My Collar." 

Bigg was also featured in a 2010 documentary called Number One with a Bullet, which focused on the relationship between rap and gun violence. In it, he describes an incident from 2004 where he survived getting shot twice in his head. He lost an eye and replaced it with a glass prosthetic with diamonds in it, earning himself the second nickname Diamondeye. 

According to Al.com, Bigg had been performing regularly while also losing weight and experiencing kidney problems in recent months.