The passing of a rapper is always something that music fans around the world feel saddened about. They will mourn their loss, but at the same time celebrate his or her legacy as an artist.
Many people know how many times rappers have died due to suicide or health issues, but there are also several other ways some musicians passed away. Some may be surprised to learn what happened to certain artists and why they lost their lives.
In this article, we will take a look at ten dead famous rappers and the reasons why their deaths made the news. If you’d like to read more such stories, then keep reading!
Famous rap suicides Include…
Some might be shocked to find out that some popular hip hop artists took their own life. Here are all of the facts about these very talented individuals and what caused them to die by self-destruction.
1) Suicide was the cause of death for two well known rappers who both left behind a large amount of money.
Murda Beatz, better known as Daz Dillinger, killed himself in March 2018 just one day before he planned to go on tour with fellow rap artist Meek Mill. Before his tragic end, Beatz posted about his struggles on social media along with messages telling followers to check out the lyrics to his songs to see things going wrong in his personal life.
Meek Mill, real name Robert Joseph Jackson Jr.
In 1996, just over two years after his debut album, Makaveli, was released, Tupac Shakur left a concert he had performed at in Las Vegas with several close friends. His body was found later that night in an empty parking lot across from the venue.
He had been shot twice, once in the right thigh and then again in the forehead. The coroner determined the gun used was fired 1-2 inches away from his face, which is why no trace of powder was left on him. This also indicated that he probably didn’t die instantly, giving his attackers more time to get away.
Tupac’s murder remains unsolved but was not considered a random crime. Because he knew some of his killers, police believe this may be related to a business deal gone wrong or to a personal dispute.
In 2007, music lovers lost two of their biggest names when the passing of Notorious B.I.G. was announced along with that of rapper Tupac Shakur one month later. Both men were found dead in Los Angeles.
Biggie suffered his death at age 33 after he was shot to death in front of his home while seated in an SUV with several other people. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Tupac was just 25 years old when he died by suicide. While many believe this happened due to his struggles with drug addiction and depression, some allege he was murdered. This is mostly sparked by the fact that he had been threatened for speaking out about his HIV status.
Both deaths remain mysterious to this day but what we know now is that they both succumbed to complications from AIDS.
AIDS is a deadly disease that can be spread through unprotected sexual activity or injection with infected blood. It usually starts as a flu-like illness known as primary infection.
This is then followed by symptoms like fever, fatigue, oral lesions (lumps under your tongue), diarrhea, weight loss and night sweats.
These symptoms are not specific to AIDS so it is important to see a doctor if you begin experiencing them.
In 2007, just months before his 40th birthday, music mogul Dr. Dre passed away due to cardiac arrest caused by advanced coronary atherosclerosis with acute ischemia. He was 50 years old at the time of his death.
Prior to his passing, he released a new album titled The Next Level. On it, he featured several songs about how life will sometimes seem like an uphill battle, but you have to keep pushing forward no matter what because “the next level” awaits you when you reach your goal.
He also mentioned in interviews that he had been advised to start taking better care of himself after experiencing chest pain while exercising. Unfortunately, he didn't heed those warnings until it was too late.
Dr. Dre's legacy as one of hip-hop's most prolific producers lives on, however. Many believe his influence still resonates today.
On March 6, 2003, just over one year after Tupac was shot in Las Vegas, he was killed at his home outside Compton, California. He was 25 years old.
Suge had been feuding with The Game for months over who would get to represent Death Row Records next. After being assaulted by two men earlier that day, The Game called police to tell them about an assault against him and his crew. When they arrived, The Game told officers that he and Tupac got into an argument before things escalated.
He then grabbed his gun and ran upstairs to check on their daughter. While there, he heard someone coming up the stairs and hid in a bedroom. There he found Tupac, along with several other people. According to The Game’s statement, he asked if anyone else had a gun, but nobody did.
The game said that when he went back downstairs, Tupac was holding onto his gun and trying to wrestle it away from him. During the struggle, Tupac pulled the trigger and shot himself.
Police later determined that the gun used in the murder-suicide was registered to Suleman Gluptha, another rapper who worked under the stage name Too Short. Gluptha sold the weapon legally less than a month earlier and reported it as lost or stolen.
In April 2001, just weeks before his 36th birthday, Rakim passed away due to cardiac arrhythmia. He had suffered from this condition for years, but it worsened as he got older.
He was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after suffering chest pains. When they took him into surgery to fix his rhythm, doctors could not get a pulse. They were able to revive him using CPR, but it was too late.
He left behind six children and a wife that he loved very much. His family wanted to make sure his body was properly buried so they picked a cemetery close to home where he would be easily accessible.
After his death, many people spoke about how talented he was and what a great influence he will always have. Many musicians and artists are inspired by his work so there is still respect for him even if some may disagree with his style.
There is no doubt that Rakim made a big impact on hip hop music, but he also broke down barriers for other black artists.
Many believe that his rhymes influenced Eminem’s style and helped inspire Nas’ voice. Even though he is considered one of the greatest rappers ever, Rakim did not receive as much recognition for his lyrics until later in his career.
People sometimes forget that he started off singing and rapping as a child. Since he touched so many people, let us remember his legacy and keep his words alive for future generations.
In 1995, just three years before his death, Death with Dignity was legalized in California. Since then, there have been several other states that have also passed similar laws. Almost every state now allows doctors to help patients die from natural causes or self-inflicted injuries.
In fact, between 2000 and 2014, there were over 1,100 reports of people dying by suicide after being given legal aid in ending their life. This includes both adolescents and adults.
This is very important to note since many people’s perception of suicide is that it is only for extremely depressed individuals or those who feel hopelessly stuck in situations. Both are true, but not always!
By giving someone the option to end their own pain and suffering, we can actually make things much worse. It may seem obvious, but anyone can easily access this information and tool.
It is essential to ask about any intentions before you allow them to give medical advice. While some suicidal people do want to hurt themselves, most simply want out. They don’t like what they are living and/or cannot go on anymore.
Suicide has nothing to do with happiness nor depression, so why should your doctor get involved? Because he or she might be paid to!
We need to address mental health issues and suicide prevention earlier to reduce deadly outcomes. Fortunately, experts estimate that up to half of all suicides could be prevented if more people received appropriate treatment for mental illness.
As reported by The New York Times, Jay Z was having an in-room dinner with his friend Jeffrey Ihlam March 6th at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas. After eating, he got into an argument over who owed whom money and then walked out of the room abruptly.
When he returned several minutes later, he was clearly not feeling well and asked to be taken home. When he arrived at the hospital, doctors determined that he had suffered a cardiac arrest due to a serious bout of pericarditis (an inflammation of the membrane around the heart) and subsequently experienced a cerebral ischemic event (lack of blood flow to the brain).
He was pronounced dead one hour after arriving at the hospital. An autopsy revealed that he did not suffer from any foul play or drug use but rather natural causes.
It is important to note that there have been many reports of rappers’ deaths for unexplained reasons. Many people speculate about whether their death was related to alcohol or marijuana usage, but never confirm this. It is also very common to find stories of musicians overdosing on prescription medication and/or heroin and cocaine abuse.
Both deaths were linked to an excessive use of cocaine. Many people know that Tupac was killed in a shooting, but few realize that he also suffered from HIV before his death.
Tupac even mentioned his health issues in one of his songs! In the song “Keep Ya Head Up”, he mentions how many doctors he has seen and recounts his experience with HIV. He says he learned about it while listening to music and then received his own test results later that day.
He gave no explanation as to what caused him to get infected, but mentioned that he would not let this stop him from living his life. He hoped his experiences could help others who may be struggling with their personal or professional lives.
The same can be said for The Notorious BIG (his close friend and musical collaborator used his full name). His goal was to inspire other young men through his music by showing them that anything is possible if you work hard and believe in yourself.
