Although we see some of our favorite musicians of any genre pass away every year, the average age at which they meet their fate is surely the lowest in hip-hop. With a style of music predicated on cathartic songwriting about adverse experiences, it should come as no surprise when these rough conditions get the best of these rappers. That does not lessen the pain, though.
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Dying young is as common in rap as lyrics about guns and drugs are, as these two themes sadly go hand-in-hand. Because these artists do not endure these circumstances out of choice, the ones who are able to rise above adversity and find success in music are all the more inspiring. So when they die at an early age, it’s just another painful reminder of how difficult it was for them to reach the heights they did in the first place.
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Here are some of the eight best rappers who died too soon.
1. Tupac (25)
June 16, 1971—Sept. 13, 1996
At this point, if you are a fan of American music at any level, you likely know the story of Tupac. One of the top rising hip-hop artists in the 1990s thanks to hit songs like “Ambitionz Az A Ridah,” “California Love,” “Hit Em Up,” and “Dear Mama,” the New York-born, Bay Area, California-bred star was poised to be one of the greatest artists in the history of the genre.
While in Las Vegas in September of 1996, just months removed from his fourth studio album All Eyez on Me in February, he was killed in a drive-by shooting. His murderer was never found and brought to justice.
2. The Notorious B.I.G. (24)
May 21, 1972—March 9, 1997
The man on the receiving end of Tupac’s “Hit Em Up” diss, Notorious B.I.G. was creeping up on being the face of New York hip-hop. This honor was particularly important at the time too, considering how many incredible artists the city was breeding in the 1990s – i.e. Nas, Jay-Z, Diddy.
At first a friend of Tupac’s, the two were practically sitting on a dual throne until petty differences split them apart. With B.I.G. being slain just a few months after Tupac, many believe both their murders were related to their East Coast versus West Coast rivalry.
3. Mac Miller (26)
January 19, 1992—Sept. 7, 2018
Although he had already put out several stellar studio albums and mixtapes by the time he passed, Mac Miller still had so much left to do with his career. Dying from an accidental drug overdose two months after his 2018 album, Swimming, dropped, Miller was in the midst of crafting its companion LP, Circles.
Circles was released posthumously in January of 2020, as many believed it would be the last album his estate would put out—Even though Madlib has different plans. Throughout his career, Miller transformed from a light-hearted, careless frat rapper to a multi-instrumentalist, jazz-inspired, lyrically-intense master of hip-hop.
4. Pop Smoke (20)
July 20, 1999—February 19, 2020
If you look around the music landscape today in 2023, New York drill artists like Ice Spice and Fivio Foreign have carved out a sector of hip-hop to allow for their chart-topping releases.
A sub-genre based on grittiness, hard-hitting 808 percussion, and often creative use of pop samples, the space New York drill occupies in rap would be much larger today if not for the home invasion murder of Pop Smoke in 2020. Passing away just weeks after his 2020 mixtape, Meet the Woo 2, in February, Smoke would end up seeing more than 20 songs of his land on the Billboard Hot 100 by the end of the year.
5. XXXTentacion (20)
January 23, 1998—June 18, 2018
Hip-hop in the late 2010s was experiencing a youth movement that very much epitomized the essence of the genre. Full of organic, passionate fanbases, streaming app SoundCloud platformed acts whose music could be heard at high school and college parties nightly all across the country.
Some of the most prominent names in this crop of Soundcloud undergrounds included Lil Yachty, Denzel Curry, Kodak Black, Lil Peep, 21 Savage, and XXXTentacion. Although many of these names built tremendously sustainable careers, none of them gained the ultimate success in terms of sales that XXXTentacion did. Following his death via armed robbery in 2018, two albums of his achieved multi-platinum status, and his 2018 single, “Sad!” earned RIAA diamond certification.
6. Juice WRLD (21)
December 2, 1998—December 8, 2019
Included in the aforementioned group of youngsters who got their start on SoundCloud, Juice WRLD probably ranks just behind XXXTentacion in terms of streaming dominance. Before and after his death due to a drug overdose in late 2019, songs of his like “Lucid Dreams,” “Robbery,” and “All Girls Are the Same” eclipsed 5x RIAA platinum, with “Lucid Dreams” going diamond in February 2022.
7. Takeoff (28)
June 18, 1994—November 1, 2022
With a career’s worth of hits under his belt via the Migos trio he formed with Quavo and Offset, Takeoff’s death via accidental shooting in late 2022 put a screeching halt to an exciting new chapter of his life.
After Migos hits like “Walk It Talk It,” “Hannah Montana,” and “Bad and Boujee” certified the Atlanta natives as one of the best rap groups ever, Takeoff and Quavo were ready to forge their own legacy as a duo. Unfortunately, just weeks following their debut album, Only Built for Infinity Links, Takeoff met a tragic demise.
8. Speaker Knockerz (19)
November 6, 1994—March 6, 2014
One of the most forgotten, yet influential names in hip-hop history is Speaker Knockerz. Before his death in 2014, singles of his like “Lonely,” “Dap You Up,” and “Rico Story” helped revolutionize autotune’s role in hip-hop.
First met with pushback when employed by Kanye West and T-Pain in the late 2000s, autotune was revived and redirected by Speaker Knockerz, as he made a more low-key, effortless sound that has been replicated by acts like Lil Uzi Vert, Roddy Ricch, and NAV.
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