Dead Cottonmouth Kings rapper St.Doug at 44

Kottonmouth Kings rapper Saint Doug Matt … TMZ learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us that Saint – whose real name is Stephen Thronson – was found dead early Wednesday morning at a friend’s home in Victorville, California. He told us SD friend and found him struggling to breathe in one of the bedrooms of the house, and called 911.

Our sources say, as soon as the authorities arrived … Saint Doug’s death was announced at the scene. We were told that there were no visible signs of tampering – the cause of death would be determined pending an autopsy and toxicology report.

The saint was one of the founding members of the Southern California hip-hop group, which formed in Orange County. He was one of three MCs in the trio, alongside D-Lock And the Johnny Richter. As their band name indicates, guys loved rapping about herbs in all capacities.

He was with the group only in its early years – after appearing in 4 of their early projects, including … “Stoners Reeking Havoc”, “Royal Highness”, “Stash Box” and “Hidden Stash”. After that, he went alone … but eventually got back to collaborating with KMK.

He is famous for their early songs like “Suburban Life”, “Bump”, “Dog’s Life”, and “Play On” among others.

Suburban Noize Records exec Kevin Zinger He tells us … “Anyone who knows Steve saw his big heart. Some of my fondest memories were watching Steve pause the music in the middle of a Cottonmouth Kings show to get a disabled wheelchair fan on stage so he could have a better show for the show and even join some singing Songs. This was just the kind of person that Steve was and touched a lot of people in a positive way. “

“His legacy will continue in his music and our hearts with his son Max and all of his family, friends and fans around the world,” he adds.

He was 44 years old.