RIP Sands! Jerel Spruill | Rap artist and athlete, 30

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Jerel "Water Water" Spruill, 30, former basketball star at Deptford High School and rap artist with the group Spooks, died Sept. 20 at Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly, Md., of injuries sustained in a car crash in Washington, where he had been visiting friends.

In 2001, Spooks produced its debut album, S.I.O.S.O.S., Volume 1. The album, which went gold in France, Belgium, Germany and Sweden, was acclaimed by some critics for its compelling, thought-provoking lyrics.

"We're making music that comes from the shadows," Mr. Spruill told an interviewer.

Mr. Spruill grew up in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood in West Philadelphia and attended St. Carthage School, where he played basketball. After his parents moved to New Jersey, he played basketball for Deptford High. As a senior in 1991, he was named to the Gloucester County Area Basketball Coaches Association all-star team.

After graduation, he attended Bloomfield College in Essex County on a basketball scholarship and later played at Salem Community College. He also attended West Chester University, where he became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. (SPRING 1996)

In recent months he had been living in King of Prussia and was pursuing a solo career.


Now I'm on my knees, beggin GOD PLEASE
SAVE ME FROM THE FIRES OF HELL
LET WATER WATER SOUL PREVAIL - cause I can't take no more
Who's that knockin, at, my door?