Pumpkinhead Gets Street Named After Him in Brooklyn

Underground rapper Pumpkinhead, who passed away in June 2015, is being honored in a special way. New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio announced that Degraw Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn would be renamed Robert PH Diaz Way. You can see Deblasio confirm it below.

Pumpkinhead was one of the most respected people in the New York underground rap and battle scenes. The Brooklyn rhymer released four solo albums, two EPs and a multitude of mixtapes during his career. He was also part of the Brooklyn Academy with fellow New York rappers Mr. Metaphor and Block McCloud. The trio released their debut album Bored of Education in 2008.

The Brooklyn native earned some of his most high profile guest spots through collaborations with the likes of Immortal Technique and Jean Grae. The late MC made appearances on Immortal Technique's critically acclaimed albums Revolutionary Vol. 1 and Revolutionary Vol. 2.

After Pumpkinhead's death last year, an outpouring of support came from the hip-hop community. Notable figures like Pharoahe Monch, El-P, The Alchemist, Slug of Atmosphere, Jean Grae, Brother Ali, Stretch Armstrong, Marco Polo and Peter Rosenberg spoke highly of PH's character and work. Talib Kweli wrote about his experiences with Pumpkinhead in a Instagram post last year.

"Just finding out I lost a great friend today," Kweli wrote. "RIP Robert Diaz AKA Pumpkinhead. Robert and I went to PS 282 together in Brooklyn, 4th grade. We then reconnected when he became an MC during the indie era of the late 90s. He signed to Makin Records, I signed to Rawkus. Then PH went on to reinvent himself again in the new battle rap era. He loved MCing and was great at it. To lose such a great human being so early in his life, man. No words. There is a fraternity of artists who were around for all of this. PH inspired us all. He will live on thru us even though his physical presence will be missed."

Pumpkinhead survived by his wife, two sons and daughter.

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