Jewell, former R&B singer of Death Row Records, dies at age 53

Jewell Caples, better known by her stage name Jewell and described as the “First Lady of Death Row,” has died, People reports. She was 53 years old.

The cause of death is still unknown, but in March she announced on Instagram that she had been discovered to have “eight pounds of fluid in her heart, lungs and legs.”

Timothy Beal, Caples’ manager, confirmed her death in a statement released on Entertainment tonight on Saturday.

“Jewell was a very special woman with a big heart,” the statement said. “She was a guest at my wedding on February 12th of this year. We had many spiritual conversations. She transformed her life from hardcore gangsta rap to a religiously-influenced gospel singer and songwriter.”

“We worked hard on her comeback and wish we could have lived to see her big comeback,” the statement continued. “Personally, I will miss her very much. Goodbye, a great friend and a very loving wife… REST IN PEACE, she is gone but not forgotten. Her spirit will live on in her music for generations to come. Rest in peace and strength.”

Well-known producer and former Death Row labelmate Daz Dillinger paid tribute to Caples in an Instagram post.

“🌹RIP 🌹REST N PEACE 🌹@iamjewellcaples I’M SAD IT REALLY HURTS BUT JEWELLZ DIED THIS MORNING,” his post read. “WOW DEATHROW FOR LIFE. WE WILL MISS HER 🌹🌹🌹 CLASSICAL MUSIC 🎼 ​​FAMILY ABOVE ALL.”

Jewell rose to prominence through her collaboration with NWA on “I’d Rather F**k You” and followed Dr. Dre when he launched Death Row Records.

On death row, she contributed to Deep Cover Soundtrack and appeared on “Let Me Ride” and “B*****s Ain’t S**t” from Dre’s classic album The Chronicle. She sang Snoop Dogg’s “What’s My Name” and “Gin And Juice” from his highly acclaimed debut From behind.

Jewell also appeared on The Dogg Pound’s “What Would You Do?”, Snoop’s “Murder Was The Case” and Tupac’s “Thug Passion.”

Caples also claimed that she sang on Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s “Foe Tha Love Of $,” even though Shatasha Williams was credited as the vocalist.

“Almost every song I’ve ever done, I wrote my own lyrics (and) it was a hit,” she said in a 2021 interview.

As a solo artist, Caples had a hit single in 1995 with a cover of Shirley Brown’s “Woman to Woman”, which reached number 72 on the Billboard Top 100 and number 16 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

After leaving the music industry, she co-authored and self-published her memoirs. My blood, my sweat, my tears in 2011 and recently appeared on the YouTube channel “The Art Of Dialogue” to talk about her life and career.

Most recently, she promoted her new podcast titled The Jewell Xperience transmission.

We extend our prayers and deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jewel Caples.