Singer Samantha Lawrence, who performed in UK duo Wee Papa Girl Rappers, has died at the age of 55.
Lawrence appeared in the hip-hop group alongside her older sister, Sandra. They reached Number Six in the UK with their 1988 single ‘Wee Rule’, for which they are best known.
In a statement, Samantha’s family said (via The Independent): “It is with great sadness that we announce that beloved sister and mother Samantha Lawrence passed away on Sunday [December 1].
“Samantha, aka TY Tim, was known for her chart success with Wee Papa Girl Rappers, a hip-hop pop duo that she founded with her older sister Sandra Lawrence, aka Total S.”
Sandra confirmed that Samantha had died peacefully in London after being diagnosed with secondary cancer this year. The family has asked for privacy “at this devastatingly sad time”.
In a tribute to the late artist, DJ Dave Pearce – who worked with Wee Papa Girl Rappers – wrote: “Sam was part of a defining and groundbreaking era of trailblazing British female rappers who against the odds conquered the UK charts alongside the likes of Cookie Crew.
“It was a really exciting time for me and always a pleasure to work with them on my Radio London hip-hop show back in the day, their positive energy was infectious.”
Pearce went on to praise the duo, saying that they were “always keen to experiment”. He also remembered how they “fused dancehall with reggae with ‘Wee Rule’ and stepped into the house arena courtesy of Kevin Saunderson’s remix of ‘Heat It Up’”.
The former Radio 1 DJ added: “Through her success, Sam will have inspired others to follow their dreams. I’m glad I had the chance to remind her of that recently.
“Thoughts with her sister Sandra and daughter KeeKee. Rest In Peace.” You can see the message in the post below.
‘Wee Rule’ appears on Wee Papa Girl Rappers’ debut album studio album, ‘The Beat, The Rhyme, The Noise’. The duo’s second and final record, ‘Be Aware’, arrived in 1990 before they first broke up the following year.
A new iteration of the group, dubbed The Wee Papas, released two singles between 1992 and 1994: ‘Wee Are The Girls’ and ‘Wherever You Go’.
Wee Papa Girl Rappers’ also reached Number 21 in the UK with the song ‘Heat It Up’ from their debut album.
The pair were backing singers for Feargal Sharkey before starting their own group and being signed to Jive Records – a British-American independent label.
In 2023, the sisters appeared in the second episode of the BBC‘s three-part documentary series First Ladies Of Hip-Hop – where they were praised for “bringing authentic British hip-hop to a mainstream audience”.
“We were born in Hammersmith, west London, brought up in South Ealing, and had our teenage years in Acton,” Samantha explained of their beginnings.
Sandra added: “Then I was, you know, influenced by rap music and I thought, ‘Yeah we could, you know, this is something that I wanted to do’.
“And then my sister, being only four years younger than me… I said, ‘Come on, we can be bedroom rappers, we can do this’. I loved just rapping with my sister, because she was just amazing. Amazing.”
Sandra then said in the episode that she felt like a “kind of underdog” when performing alongside her younger sister. “She just inspired me,” she explained, before Samatha spoke about the pair’s “unique” respective styles.
