Melvin “Magoo” Barcliff died on August 13th at age 50. Magoo rapped as one-half of Timbaland & Magoo during the ’90s. The Norfolk, Virginia natives met as teenagers and created their first songs as SBI (Surrounded By Idiots) and Pharrell Williams was a member. They saw their first album as a duo Welcome To Our World drop in 1997. “Up Jumps The Boogie,” “Luv 2 Luv U” and “Clock Strikes” were the singles from the album that put the duo in the spotlight. Magoo is credited by Missy Elliott, who was also in their teenage and professional posse, for giving her the nickname Misdemeanor. Magoo stood out because of his nasally tone which got him compared to Q-Tip a lot. He recorded three albums with Timbaland and Under Construction, Part II was their last in 2003. All three albums were re-released in 2021 after Blackground Records stuck a deal with Empire Distribution. Magoo stopped making music because he never had an interest in being a solo artist.
