Hip-hop is a genre of music that has captured the hearts and minds of people all around the world. It has brought us countless talented artists, each with their own unique style and sound. However, it’s hard to ignore the tragic fact that many of these artists have passed away, leaving behind a legacy that will never be forgotten.
In this article, we will take a closer look at 15 famous dead rappers who have had a profound impact on the hip-hop community. From Tupac Shakur to Notorious B.I.G, these artists have left an indelible mark on the genre, and their music continues to resonate with fans today.
Each of these artists had a unique style and flow that set them apart from the rest. Tupac’s socially conscious lyrics and fierce delivery spoke to a generation, while Biggie’s smooth flow and vivid storytelling made him a legend in his own right. Other artists on this list, such as Eazy-E and Ol’ Dirty Bastard, pushed boundaries with their unconventional styles and fearless attitudes.
But it’s not just their music that made these artists so important to the hip-hop community. Their impact on the culture cannot be overstated. From the way they dressed to the causes they championed, these artists were trendsetters and influencers, shaping the culture of hip-hop for generations to come.
Despite their untimely deaths, the music of these 15 famous dead rappers continues to inspire and influence new generations of artists. From the underground to the mainstream, their legacy lives on. Whether you are a long-time fan or new to hip-hop, these legendary figures are ones you should know about.
Table of Contents
Young Dolph
First and foremost, we have Young Dolph on our dead rappers list. He is one of the most famous/followed rappers on our list. He was born on 27th July 1985 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
His actual name was Adolph Robert Thornton Jr. He began his career in 2006 and ended in 2021, when he was brutally shot in Memphis, Tennessee, on 17th November 2021. His age was around 36 years at the time of his death.
Besides being a rapper, he was also a songwriter. Some of his famous albums/songs are “King of Memphis,” “Bulletproof,” “Thinking Out Loud,” “Role Model,” “Dum and Dummer,” “Rich Slave,” and many others.
Dolph’s Instagram account has around 4.8 million+ followers at @youngdolph, around 5.3 million+ monthly listeners on Spotify at Young Dolph, and more than 232,000 followers on SoundCloud at Young Dolph.
The Notorious B.I.G.
The Notorious B.I.G., whose age was around 24 years when he died. His actual name was Christopher George Latore Wallace.
The rapper was born on 21st May 1972 in New York, USA. He began his career in 1992 and ended it on 9th March 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA after being shot and dying from bullet wounds.
He was also a songwriter and music producer. His famous releases are “Ready to Die,” “Life After Death,” “Conspiracy,” “Born Again,” “The King & I,” and many others.
He had around one million+ follower on Instagram at @thenotoriousbig, more than 17.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify at The Notorious B.I.G., and more than 141,000 followers on SoundCloud at Notorious B.I.G.
King Von
This dead rapper was born on 9th August 1994 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. His age was around 26 years at the time of his death. His actual name was Dayvon Daquan Bennett.
His career started in 2018, and just after two years in 2020, he died of bullet wounds during a shootout on 6th November 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Some of his famous albums/songs are “Welcome to O’Block,” “What It Means To Be King,” “Unreleased,” “Crazy Story,” “How It Go,” and many others. He was also a songwriter.
His Instagram account has 3.3 million+ followers at @kingvonfrmdao, he has more than 8.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify at King Von, and his SoundCloud account has around 470,000+ followers at King Von.
Pop Smoke
Smoke’s real name was Bashar Barakah Jackson. He was born on 20th July 1999 in New York City, USA. His age was around 20 years at the time of his death.
Bashar began his musical career in 2018, and in 2020, during an armed house robbery, robbers shot him thrice on 19th February 2020 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
His famous albums/songs are “Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon,” “Faith,” “Invincible,” “For the Night,” “Dior,” “What You Know Bout Love,” and several others. He was also a songwriter.
This dead rapper’s Instagram account has 3.8 million+ followers at @realpopsmoke, his Spotify account has around 25 million+ monthly listeners on Spotify at Pop Smoke, and he has 869,000+ SoundCloud followers at POP SMOKE.
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur’s age was around 25 years when he died. He was born on 16th June 1971 in New York City, USA. His actual was Lesane Parish Crooks. He was also a songwriter.
Shakur’s career started in 1989 and ended in 1996 when he became a victim of a drive-by homicide on 13th September 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Besides being a rapper, he was also a songwriter and actor. His famous releases are “2Pacalypse Now” “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z…” “Me Against The World,” “All Eyez On Me,” and many others.
He had more than 6.5 million followers on his Instagram account at @2pac, more than 20.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify at 2Pac, and almost 400 followers on SoundCloud at Tupac Shakur.
Charizma
Charizma was interested in rap from a young age (from his high school, to be precise). His age was around 20 years when he died. He was born on 6th July 1973 in San Jose, California, USA.
His actual name was Charles Edward Hicks Jr. On 16th December 1993 in East Palo Alto, California, someone came near his car and brutally shot him in the chest, killing him.
Hicks Jr. began his career in 1987, and his career ended in 1993 with his life. Some of his famous albums/songs are “M-Town EP,” “Big Shots,” “Big Shots Bonus EP,” and many others.
This dead rapper has around 1.1 million+ followers on Instagram at @charizma_official, more than 20 monthly listeners on Spotify at Charizma, and around 100+ followers on SoundCloud at Lil Charizma.
MO3
The seventh on our dead rappers’ list is MO3, whose actual name is Melvin Abdul Noble Jr. He was born on 31st May 1992 in McKinney, Texas, USA. His age was 28 years at the time of his death.
On 11th November 2020, in Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas, a car was chasing Melvin, and when they approached him, they shot him multiple times; thus, he died. His career began in 2014 and ended in 2020 with his life.
Besides being a rapper, he was also a songwriter and singer. Some of his notable releases are “Badazz MO3,” “Shottaz 4Eva'” “Hold Ya Tongue,” “All The Way Down,” “Everything,” “Gangsta Love,” “Letter To My Mama,” and many others.
His Instagram account has more than 929,000 followers at @hotboymo3, his Spotify account has around 1.4 million+ monthly listeners at MO3, and his SoundCloud account has around 95,800+ followers at Mo3.
Sabotage
His age was around 29 years at the time of his death. This dead rapper was born on 13th April 1973 in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. His actual name was Mauro Mateus dos Santos.
Just like many other dead rappers on our list, someone shot Mauro four times, resulting in his death on 24th January 2003. He was also a songwriter, besides being a rapper.
Sabotage’s career started in 1989 and ended in 2003 when he died. His famous releases are “Rap É Compromisso!” “Uma Luz Que Nunca Irá se Apagar” “Rap é o Hino que Me Mantém Vivo” “Sabotage” and many others.
His Instagram account has around 802,000+ followers at @sabotageoficial, his Spotify account has 31,500+ monthly listeners at Sabotage, and his SoundCloud account has more than 700 followers at Sabotage.
Eazy-E
His real name is Eric Lynn Wright. He was born on 7th September 1964 in Compton, California, USA. On 26th March 1995 in Los Angeles, California, USA. His age was 30 years when he died.
Eazy-E began his career in 1987 and ended in 1995 with his life. The cause of his death became AIDS-induced pneumonia. His notable releases include “Eazy-Duz-It,” “Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton,” and many others.
This dead rapper’s Instagram account has 233,000+ followers at @eazye, his Spotify account has 4.1 million+ monthly listeners at Eazy-E, and his SoundCloud account has 54,600+ followers at Eazy-e.
Proof
He was born on 2nd October 1973 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. His actual name is DeShaun Dupree Holton. He began his career in 1994 and was active for about 12 years.
On 11th April 2006 in Detroit, Michigan, this rapper became a dead rapper at the age of 32 due to gunshots. His famous releases are “Anywhere EP,” “Electric Coolaid Acid Testing EP,” “I Miss The Hip-Hop Shop,” and many others.
Proof had around 110,000+ followers on Instagram at @profproof, more than 49,000 monthly listeners on Spotify at Proof, and almost 800 followers on SoundCloud at Proof.
Lele
He was born on 17th September 1986 in Carolina, Puerto Rico. His actual name was Victor Alexis Rivera Santiago. His age was only 23 years at the time of his death.
Lele began his career in 2003, and on 1st July 2010, he was killed. Besides being a rapper, he is also a songwriter and singer. Some of his famous albums/songs are “Into Secret Family,” “Q Pasara,” “Corazon Vacio,” and many others.
This dead rapper’s Instagram account has around 310,000+ followers at @lelegraph, his Spotify account has around 12,000+ monthly listeners at Lele, and his SoundCloud account has more than five followers at Lele.
Houdini
Just like the magician Houdini, he was a magician in his profession. But his fate had other plans. His birth date is 23rd July 1998, and his birthplace is Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
His age was around 21 years at the time of his death. On 26th May 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, someone shot him. He began his career in 2016, and his career ended in 2020.
Some of his notable releases are “Late Nights,” “Myself,” “Backseats,” “Levels,” and many others. He was also a songwriter, besides being a rapper.
Houdini’s Instagram account has around 144,000+ followers at @houdini, his Spotify account has 339,000+ monthly listeners at Houdini, and his SoundCloud account has 20,200+ followers at Houdini.
Smoke Dawg
His actual name was Jahvante Jahqwane Sheldon Smart. His age was 21 years when he died. He was born on 18th November 1996 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He began his career in 2013.
On 30th June 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, he was shot and killed by anonymous killers. Some of his notable releases are “Still,” “Trap House,” “Flippin’,” “Count It Up,” “Snow,” and many others.
Smoke had around 64,600+ followers on Instagram at @smokedawg, more than 77,200 monthly listeners on Spotify at Smoke Dawg, and around 9,000+ followers on SoundCloud at Smoke Dawg.
Big L
This dead rapper died on 15th February 1999 in New York City, USA. His actual name was Lamont Coleman. Coleman began his career in 1992, and his career ended in 1999 with his life.
Besides being a rapper, he is also a songwriter and music producer. During a drive-by homicide, someone shot him about nine times, resulting in his death. His famous releases are “Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous,” “The Big Picture,” and many others.
He had more than 40,500 followers on Instagram at @bigl_139, more than 1.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify at Big L, and around 8,700+ followers on SoundCloud at Big L.
Yaki Kadafi
He was born on 9th October 1977 in New York City, USA. His real name is Yafeu Akiyele Fula. This dead rapper died on 10th November 1996 in Orange, New Jersey, USA; at the age of 19; someone killed him.
Kadafi began his career in 1994, and his career ended in 1996 with his life. Some of his notable releases are “Son Rize Vol. 1,” “Still I Rise,” and many others. He is also a songwriter.
Yaki’s Instagram account has around 45,300+ followers at @yakikadafi, his Spotify account has no listeners yet at Yaki Kadafi, but his SoundCloud account has 30+ followers at Yaki Kadafi 3.
