Rudy Ray Moore, the "Godfather of Rap"

Rudy Ray Moore, the self-proclaimed "Godfather of Rap," died on Sunday. Moore was famous as an especially raunchy comedian, whose recordings were wrapped in brown-paper and held behind the counters at record stores. His film Dolemite was, according to John Leland, "the Citizen Kane of kung fu pimping movies"—a cult classic in the blaxploitation genre. Rap artists often sampled Moore, performed with him, and imitated him. "Without Rudy Ray Moore, there would be no Snoop Dogg," said Snoop Dogg, "and that's for real." Moore was 81.