Ms. Melodie, ???-2012

More sad news in hip-hop today as we learn that Boogie Down Productions’ Ramona “Ms. Melodie” Parker died of as-yet-unknown causes Tuesday night. Born and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Melodie married BDP founder KRS-One in 1988, and had one of the biggest records of the ‘80s — maybe the very biggest, as you can see, above, in the video to the terrific single, “Live Onstage,” from her debut solo album, Diva. (Which, it should be noted, predated Annie Lennox’s album of the same name by three years.) She and KRS-One divorced in 1992, and there are conflicting reports as to her age. She was in her 40s when she died though, it seems. And that’s too young.