Stepa J. Groggs, a member of the Arizona Hip Hop trio Injury Reserve, died at the age of 32 on Monday (June 29). The group announced his passing via Twitter and shared a link to a GoFundMe campaign for his family on Tuesday night (June 30).
“REST IN POWER Jordan Alexander Groggs a loving father, life partner and friend,” the message read. “(6/1/1988-6/29/2020).”
Gofundme to support his family here: https://t.co/HV22i8xQzJ
— Injury Reserve (@InjuryReserve) June 30, 2020
Groggs survived by his partner Anna Ford and their four children. No cause of death has been revealed as of press time.
The GoFundMe for Groggs’ family has a goal of $75,000. As of Wednesday (July 1), over $62,000 has been donated to the fundraiser.
Following the announcement of Groggs’ death, members of the Hip Hop community reacted with shock and sadness. Run The Jewels member El-P, past collaborators such as Aminé and A-Trak, fellow rappers from the Arizona scene and many fans mourned the loss of the Injury Reserve MC.
Injury Reserve Shares Self-Titled LP
Groggs and Injury Reserve had a career breakthrough with the release of 2015’s Live From The Dentist Office mixtape, receiving a glowing review from The Needle Drop’s Anthony Fantano. Subsequent projects gained more attention for the trio before they eventually landed a deal with Loma Vista Recordings, the label home of notable acts such as Common and Denzel Curry.
In 2019, Injury Reserve dropped a self-titled studio LP via Loma Vista. The album featured collaborations with Freddie Gibbs, Rico Nasty, JPEGMAFIA, DRAM, Aminé and A-Trak, among others. It peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart.
HipHopDX sends our condolences to Groggs’ friends and family. View some of the reaction to his passing below.
i’m so sorry ❤️
— el-p (@therealelp) July 1, 2020
https://t.co/yYPDYz2Kri
— Aminé (@heyamine) July 1, 2020
RIP, this is too sad. Sending love.
— Knowledge Of Selfie (@atrak) July 1, 2020
Oh my god. My prayers to y’all https://t.co/olBh2Gr10F
— Mega Ran (@MegaRan) July 1, 2020
damn. r.i.p.
— Open Mike Eagle (@Mike_Eagle) July 1, 2020
My heart goes out to Injury Reserve. ?
— ROQY TYRAID SAMA (@RoqyTYRAID) July 1, 2020
Damn, RIP ??????
— Futuristic™ (@OnlyFuturistic) July 1, 2020