Injury Reserve rapper Jordan Groggs dies, aged 32 | NME
Jordan Groggs, known best as Stepa J. Groggs in Arizona hip-hop trio Injury Reserve, has died, aged 32.
The group confirmed his death on June 29 in a Twitter post today (July 1), alongside a photo of the late MC.
“REST IN POWER Jordan Alexander Groggs a loving father, life partner and friend. (6/1/1988-6/29/2020),” the group wrote.
REST IN POWER Jordan Alexander Groggs a loving father, life partner and friend. (6/1/1988-6/29/2020) pic.twitter.com/tYUa4nnebV
— Injury Reserve (@InjuryReserve) June 30, 2020
Injury Reserve also shared a GoFundMe page for Groggs’ family, which says he is survived by his partner Anna and their four children Joey, Jayden, Toph, and Ari.
“Groggs’s heart has touched everyone he has came across. He will live on through his family, supporters, and the communities he was apart of,” the fund’s description reads.
At time of writing, the GoFundMe has raised $42,074 of its $75,000 goal. All donations to the fund will go towards family support and services. No cause of death has been released.
Injury Reserve collaborator Aminé took to Instagram to pay tribute to Groggs, writing, “rest in power to the kindest soul and one of my favorite rappers. love you Groggs.”
Kero Kero Bonito also paid tribute to Groggs, calling him “a memorably friendly and genuine person”. They wrote, “With IR he made some of the best, most progressive hip hop in recent memory.”
We met Jordan when we played with Injury Reserve at Willamette in 2017. He was a memorably friendly and genuine person and with IR he made some of the best, most progressive hip hop in recent memory. There's a GoFundMe to help his partner and children: https://t.co/5PTosWSHNY https://t.co/VbGTUqPKVL
— Kero Kero Bonito (@KeroKeroBonito) July 1, 2020
Stereogum writes that Groggs met future Injury Reserve member Nathaniel Ritchie at a Vans store in Phoenix in 2012, which Ritchie’s mother owned and where Groggs worked. The pair bonded over music, with Groggs, as the older of the two, acting as a mentor. Injury Reserve formed when they met prodigious and experimental young producer Parker Corey through a mutual friend. They found their own niche in Arizona, without much of a rap scene to speak of at the time.
Injury Reserve released their first mixtape, ‘Live From The Dentist’s Office’ – which was recorded in an actual dentist’s office – in 2015. Their second mixtape, ‘Floss’, arrived a year later. 2019 marked the release of their official eponymous debut album, with features from JPEGMAFIA, DRAM, Freddie Gibbs and more.
Groggs’ last recorded appearance as part of Injury Reserve was a feature on London duo Jockstrap‘s latest single ‘Robert’, from their EP ‘Wicked City’.
