Famed rappers Fat Joe and Jim Jones joined the likes of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and Councilman Raphael Salamanca, Jr. plus dozens of south Bronx residents in remembering the late hip hop icon Frederick ‘Fred The Godson’ Thomas by renaming the intersection of Leggett Avenue and Kelly Street in his honor Monday, February 22.
Fred The Godson succumbed to complications from COVID-19 in April of 2020, he was 35.
The streets of his old neighborhood of Longwood, a place where he donned the name “Big Bronx” early in his career were co-named on what would have been his 36th birthday, the same day Fred The Godson’s posthumous album titled “Ascension” was released.
“The thing that’s most special about Fred is that he wanted to make you feel special, so even though he is who he is, every time he sees you he wanted to put a smile on your face,” fellow Bronx rapper Fat Joe said on that snowy Monday in front of a cheering Bronx crowd.
Jim Jones also shared some personal memories and times shared with Fred, telling of how he even motivated Jones to pursue his own rap career.
“Fred inspired me to do this music,” Jones told the crowd, recalling times when he was reluctant to be involved in music, only to have Fred The Godson almost literally push Jones into a studio’s recording booth.
Leggett Ave. & Kelly St. in the Bronx, #NYC, is now Fredrick “Fred The Godson” Thomas Ave. ??#RIPFredTheGodson pic.twitter.com/6kqTq2IvWh
— HOT 97 (@HOT97) February 22, 2021
Fred The Godson was a regular guest DJ for the radio station Hot97, he often collaborated with fellow New York acts such as Jadakiss, Pusha T, Cam’ron, and Raekwon of Wu Tang Clan.
Amadeus, another iconic Bronx hip hop producer also shared out a message of remembrance for Fred The Godson, posting to Instagram “Once A Legend Always A Legend! King I Know Ya Smiling & Shining Down On Us ALL! Your Name, Music & Legacy Will Live On FOREVER! Happy Birthday Bronx King & Legend.”
Borough President Diaz too commented on the celebration, stating “We lost so many amazing Bronxites this past year who are not just numbers to us. Today, we honored the life of one of them.”
