Former gang member turned best selling author Monster Kody Scott has died, according to sources with AllHipHop. His turbulent life as an Eight Tray Crip was transformed into a remarkable work of art, “Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member.”
He was 57.
He would eventually denounce his former life and change his name to Sanyika Shakur (unifier and gatherer of his people), but he would never fully shake his street name.
r.i.p monster kody 💙💙💙
“I was a criminal. I became a revolutionary. And people expected me to commit class suicide as a successful writer and become a noted author, and to me, I didn’t want to go that way. I didn’t want to be the go to guy when they said, ‘What about gangs?’ Because that’s not what it’s about,” he wrote.
Shakur got his gang nickname at the age of 13-year-old gang member in the mid-1970s. He was known to viciously beat his opponents, shoot it out, and committed robberies. He was mentored by Tookie Williams, founder of the Crips.
He was shot and beaten numerous times before going to jail for an extended period. It was then that he continued to grow as a person, completely denouncing his life. In 1993, he published his book in Pelican Bay, a maximum security prison, while in solitary confinement.
He eventually befriended Tupac Shakur and even tried his hands at rapping.
He reportedly died of a stroke, but that has yet to be confirmed by his family.
Check out this rundown of his life and times.