Sensational obit

Sensational, experimental rapper and underground maverick, dies aged 51

The cult New York MC's death was confirmed by long-time collaborator Madteo yesterday 

He was not on the list.

Cult New York experimentalist Colin Julius Bobb, AKA Sensational, has died aged 51.

Regular collaborator Madteo broke the news on Instagram yesterday, August 11th. No cause of death was disclosed.

Bobb was a cult hero of the underground whose music occupied a singular space between hip-hop, noise and experimental electronics. Born in Guyana in 1974 and raised in Brooklyn, he was initially a dancer who performed as Torture, before moving to the microphone and appearing with the Jungle Brothers. Producer Bill Laswell subsequently introduced him to Spectre and the New York underground label WordSound, where Torture became Sensational—also recording as Perfection.

His 1997 debut album Loaded With Power, made largely with a four-track and drum machine, established his distinctive style of fractured beats, found sounds and unconventional flows—but his collaborations extended well beyond hip-hop.

He recorded with Spectre, Kid 606 and Japanese experimentalist Kouhei Matsunaga, including the Sensational Meets Kouhei project, whose work was later remixed by Autechre. In later years he worked with artists including Milo Smee, Madteo, NHK'Koyxen, Kassem Mosse and DJ Sotofett, finding an audience among a new generation of experimental electronic producers.

His later life was marked by substance abuse and periods of homelessness, documented in the 2010 film The Rise and Fall and Rise of Sensational. Despite these struggles, he continued recording and collaborating, remaining a fiercely individual presence in New York’s underground. His refusal to conform to the conventions of either rap or electronic music became the defining characteristic of a career that inspired artists across both worlds.