Fatman Scoop Memorial Concert
Hamden Town Center Park
Hamden, Conn.
Aug. 29, 2025
How do you mourn a hype man?
A year after Fatman Scoop collapsed onstage at Town Center Park, a crowd of his fans gathered to give it their best with a free tribute concert featuring Scoop’s longtime right-hand stage presence, DJ Knuckles, and hip-hop artist Chubb Rock. Attendees wore all-white in Fatman Scoop’s memory.
The booming voice and infectious energy of Isaac Freeman III, known to millions as Fatman Scoop, graced some of the most iconic hip-hop records of the early aughts. Perhaps most memorably, his track “Be Faithful” featuring the Crooklyn Clan hit airwaves in 1999, topping the UK charts in its ‘03 rerelease. Scoop is also one of the first voices you hear on Missy Elliott’s 2005 “Lose Control” — he’s the one kicking the track off with a decisive “Let’s go!”
On Aug. 30, 2024, Fatman Scoop’s name was in headlines around the world as he collapsed at the show at Town Center Park in Hamden. He was rushed to a hospital and died later that evening.
“I’m always gonna feel like he’s right behind us, or yelling at us,” said DJ Knuckles, taking a moment to mentally replay memories of Scoop before his set began at Friday night’s tribute concert. The two had known each other since their youth, making music as an outgrowth of their natural unstoppable dynamic.
“You know how many times we’d have to go out into the grass to get him?” Knuckles said. He pointed to the grassy area between the stage and a distant hill. “He would park right there,” Knuckles said, laughing.
“He gave us so much love,” he reminisced. Sometimes, Knuckles remembered, he would turn around and Scoop would be dropping his pants in a spur-of-the-moment gag to lighten the mood.
Knuckles credited the Connecticut music community for having the sensibility to “make sure it didn’t go haywire when we lost him.”
“Because he was an angel, you all treated him like that,” he said.
DJ Knuckles’ set was filled with Fatman Scoop’s unmistakeable voice. With the help of his late childhood friend, he got everyone’s hands up. He played Scoop’s favorite tracks and spoke in between, reminding the park that Scoop’s music was the kind of music playing at birthdays and celebrations.
Chubb Rock promised the crowd, “We’re going old-school tonight,” getting audience members to make some noise if they were over 30, 40, 50, and on. Then he delivered classic dance anthems from clubs and gatherings across the generations, from The Commodores’ 1977 Motown single “Brick House” and Cheryl Lynn’s 1978 disco hit “To Be Real” to Frankie Beverly and Maze’s ’81 soul/funk “Before I Let Go,” Prince’s ’86 “Kiss,” and Doug E. Fresh’s ’93 “I‑Ight.”
He dedicated his set to Fatman Scoop, “one of the best party rockers,” and made sure to keep the party going.
The tribute show was a family affair. Fatman Scoop’s children, Tiana and Torrance Freeman, came through. “Everywhere I go, I hear my dad’s music,” Tiana said softly.
Their mother, Dana Freeman, who met Scoop back in 1993 and had been part of Fatman Scoop’s life for over 30 years, said Scoop was a “shining star, all day.”
“It’s phenomenal,” she said the outpouring of gratitude and celebration for Scoop’s life. “This man has done so much for so many people, in so many ways.”
Doc Martin, Chairman of the Hamden Arts Commission and co-organizer of the tribute show, remembered working alongside Fatman Scoop at sister radio stations WBLS and Hot 97 in the late ‘90s. Martin’s shift was 7 m. to midnight, and Fatman Scoop would be on midnight to 6 a/m.
“It was great working with him,” Martin said. When the two last saw each other at Scoop’s Hamden show last year, Martin remembers Scoop’s joy upon seeing a familiar face.
“He gave his life performing in service of others,” Martin said.
Paul “Hollywood” Henderson, the night’s MC and a promoter who has worked with the town’s arts department for the past two years, called the show a “bittersweet moment.” He started off the night’s ceremony with a moment of silence, broken by a loud “Now make some noise for Fatman Scoop!”
Hamden Mayor Lauren Garrett delivered a proclamation honoring Fatman Scoop and declared Friday Fatman Scoop Day. The Hamden Arts Commission then unveiled a commemorative “Fatman Scoop” bench, complete with a design by a local student, which will live on in the park.
When DJ Knuckles got onstage, he told the crowd stories of his friendship with Fatman Scoop as young teens. “We used to battle to see which older brother was better than the other,” Knuckles remembered.
Then, one day: “He said, ‘Let’s make a record.’ I said, ‘Whatever.’” The rest, as they say, is history.
Knuckles put on Fatman Scoop’s “Be Faithful,” and the crowd went wild as the late hype man’s voice poured through the speakers:
You got a hundred dollar bill, get your hands up!
You got a fifty dollar bill, get your hands up!
You got a twenty dollar bill, get your hands up!
You got a ten dollar bill, get your hands up!
Knuckles relived the old days for a moment, telling the crowd he needed to go ask Scoop something. He turned his back to the crowd. After a beat, Knuckles turned around to face everyone once again, proclaiming, “He said he can’t hear y’aaaall!” Through music, Knuckles alchemized grief into vitality.
After his set, Knuckles stayed on stage, trying out the Fatman Scoop memorial bench and helping hype up the crowd for Chubb Rock. At least for the night, the stage transformed, becoming an altar to a legendary voice gone too soon.
