After suffering a stroke last week, Three 6 Mafia member Koopsta Knicca has passed away, TMZ reports. Koopsta, born Robert Cooper Phillips, was 40-years-old.
It was announced yesterday (Oct. 8) that he was hospitalized due to suffering a brain aneurysm. False reports had surfaced that he had passed away, which Gangsta Boo refuted via Twitter. 
Unfortunately, Phillips ended up passing away early Friday morning (Oct. 9th). His death was confirmed through the groups’ publicist Dove Clark with The Commercial Appeal.
Phillips was a founding member of Three 6 Mafia but parted ways with the group in 1999 due to legal issues. He continued to release projects like Da K Project and Undaground Muzik, Vol. 1, before he reunited with Lord Infamous, Gangsta Boo and Juicy J to form Da Mafia 6ix. Before his death, he was working on a project with DJ Paul.
“Me and Koop had just started writing his new album ‘Devil’s Playground 2’… but we didn’t get a chance to record yet,” said DJ Paul in a statement. “We had concerts coming up starting next month too. He also just got a home in Vegas that he was moving to on Tuesday, but never got to even see it in person.”
A GoFundMe had been launched to collect donations for his medical bills but not it will also help pay for his funeral.
