(CelebrityAccess) – The “First Lady of Death Row Records,” Jewell Caples, passed away Friday (May 6) at 53. Former Death Row security team member Reggie Wright, Jr, broke the news of her passing. An official cause of death was not announced.
Caples announced back in March that she’d been in and out of the hospital while experiencing some problematic health issues, including fluid around her heart, praising God for bringing her through them. She had a follow-up Instagram post approximately five weeks ago thanking God, her family, her church, and her Instagram supporters for checking on her and praying for her during her recovery.
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Native Chicagoan Caples contributed to tracks by N.W.A. before joining Death Row in the early 90s. She appeared on Dr. Dre‘s album (The Chronic) and Snoop‘s LP, Doggystyle, during her career. Her biggest career hit came from her cover of “Woman to Woman” by Shirley Brown, which hit No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100. During her career, she was credited under a few different monikers – Jewell Curtis, Jewell Payton, Ju’well, and Ju-L.
After finding religion and God, she left the music industry and was supposed to release her memoir, My Blood, My Sweat, My Tears, on October 25, 2011. However, due to legal implications, the book’s publishing date was delayed and finally released in 2015. The book is a tell-all account of her time at Death Row under the infamous and currently incarcerated (deservedly so) Suge Knight.
Her last Instagram post promoted her YouTube Xperience Broadcast/Podcast, which aired Thursday (4/28/22) and every Thursday following.
