OG Maco

Biography

Benedict Chiajulam Ihesiba Jr. (April 23, 1992 – December 26, 2024), known professionally as OG Maco, was an American rapper. He was best known for his debut single "U Guessed It×U Guessed It25 September 2014 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1U Guessed It2:262U Guessed It (extended version)3:29", which spawned a remix that features 2 Chainz, that entered the Billboard Hot 100.

Life and career

Benedict Chiajulam Ihesiba Jr. was born on April 23, 1992, in College Park, Georgia. He grew up with friends in a band named Dr. Doctor, in which he was a guitarist and singer.
Maco cited Black Sabbath, Kid Cudi, and Currensy as major influences. Maco was best known for his 2014 debut single "U Guessed It×U Guessed It25 September 2014 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1U Guessed It2:262U Guessed It (extended version)3:29", which spawned a remix featuring 2 Chainz that entered the Billboard Hot 100. He signed to Quality Control Music that same year, which became an imprint of Motown and Capitol Records the following year. He was chosen as part of XXL magazine's 2015 annual Freshman Class. He was also the founder of the hip hop collective OGG, through which he discovered then-unknown producer OG Parker. Maco released seventeen extended plays between 2012 and 2016, and his full-length debut, The God of Rage, was released in October 2021.

Health issues and death

Ihesiba was seriously injured in a traffic collision on July 28, 2016. He suffered multiple skull fractures, cracked vertebrae, a broken orbital, and heart palpitations, and nearly lost his right eye.
In 2019, he was diagnosed with the flesh-eating disease necrotizing fasciitis, causing an improperly treated minor skin rash to leave much of his facial skin disfigured. Ihesiba struggled with depression from his battle with the condition, and on December 12, 2024, he was hospitalized after a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He spent the next two weeks in a coma before dying from his injuries on December 26, 2024, at the age of 32.