This is a list of famous rappers that died since 1987. Two studies in the mid-2010s concluded that murder was the cause of half of hip-hop artist deaths. The average age of death is between 25–30 years of age. Rappers have a higher rate of homicide than artists of any other genre of music, ranging from five to 32 times higher.
Some reasons cited for the high homicide rate include the poor background of many rappers, criminal gang activity, drug use, and inadequate pastoral care among artists and record labels.
In 2020, XXL published that of 77 rapper deaths they examined, more than 40 remain unsolved, including the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur, the 1997 murder of the Notorious B.I.G., and the 1999 murder of Big L.
Here are the names of rappers who have died. The list picks names from 1987 to present. Kindly examine the names below:
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
| Name | Date of death | Age at death | Place of death | Cause of death | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott La Rock | August 27, 1987 | 25 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Paul C | July 17, 1989 | 24 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Danny “D-Boy” Rodriguez | October 6, 1990 | 22 | Dallas, Texas, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Charizma | December 16, 1993 | 20 | East Palo Alto, California, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Stretch | November 30, 1995 | 27 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Seagram | July 31, 1996 | 26 | Oakland, California, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Tupac Shakur | September 13, 1996 | 25 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Drive-by shooting | |
| G-Slimm | October 13, 1996 | 21 | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | Shooting | |
| The Notorious B.I.G. | March 9, 1997 | 24 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Drive-by shooting | |
| Fat Pat | February 3, 1998 | 27 | Houston, Texas, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Big L | February 15, 1999 | 24 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Shooting | |
| DJ Uncle Al | September 10, 2001 | 32 | Miami, Florida, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Jam Master Jay | October 30, 2002 | 37 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Sabotage | January 24, 2003 | 29 | São Paulo, Brazil | Shooting | |
| Camoflauge | May 19, 2003 | 21 | Savannah, Georgia, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Soulja Slim | November 26, 2003 | 26 | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Mac Dre | November 1, 2004 | 34 | Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Blade Icewood | April 19, 2005 | 28 | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Papa Touwtjie | June 9, 2005 | 36 | Paramaribo, Suriname | Shooting | |
| Proof | April 11, 2006 | 32 | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Big Hawk | May 1, 2006 | 36 | Houston, Texas, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Dolla | May 18, 2009 | 21 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Speedfreaks | March 26, 2010 | 37 | Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Shooting | |
| Lele | July 1, 2010 | 23 | Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico | Shooting | |
| Messy Mya | November 14, 2010 | 22 | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Magnolia Shorty | December 20, 2010 | 28 | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Bad News Brown | February 11, 2011 | 33 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Unspecified violence | |
| Adán Zapata | June 1, 2012 | 21 | San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico | Shooting | |
| Lil JoJo | September 4, 2012 | 18 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Shooting | |
| MC Daleste | July 7, 2013 | 20 | Paulínia, Brazil | Shooting | |
| Lil Snupe | June 20, 2013 | 18 | Winnfield, Louisiana, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Pavlos Fyssas | September 18, 2013 | 34 | Keratsini, Greece | Stabbing | |
| Depzman | September 21, 2013 | 18 | Birmingham, England | Stabbing | |
| Doe B | December 28, 2013 | 22 | Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. | Shooting | |
| The Jacka | February 2, 2015 | 37 | Oakland, California, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Chinx | May 17, 2015 | 31 | New York City, New York, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Bankroll Fresh | March 4, 2016 | 28 | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Mr. 3-2 | November 10, 2016 | 44 | Houston, Texas, U.S. | Shooting | |
| XXXTentacion | June 18, 2018 | 20 | Deerfield Beach, Florida, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Jimmy Wopo | June 18, 2018 | 21 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Smoke Dawg | June 30, 2018 | 21 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Shooting | |
| Young Greatness | October 29, 2018 | 34 | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Feis | January 1, 2019 | 32 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Shooting | |
| Kevin Fret | January 10, 2019 | 24 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Shooting | |
| Nipsey Hussle | March 31, 2019 | 33 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Shooting | |
| RS | September 3, 2019 | 18 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Stabbing | |
| Pop Smoke | February 19, 2020 | 20 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Shooting during home invasion | |
| Houdini | May 26, 2020 | 21 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Shooting | |
| Huey | June 25, 2020 | 31 | Kinloch, Missouri, U.S. | Shooting | |
| King Von | November 6, 2020 | 26 | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | Shooting | |
| MO3 | November 11, 2020 | 28 | Dallas, Texas, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Einár | October 21, 2021 | 19 | Stockholm, Sweden | Shooting | |
| Young Dolph | November 17, 2021 | 36 | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Drakeo the Ruler | December 19, 2021 | 28 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Stabbing | |
| Snootie Wild | February 27, 2022 | 36 | Houston, Texas, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Goonew | March 18, 2022 | 24 | Prince George’s County, Maryland, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Archie Eversole | April 5, 2022 | 37 | Decatur, Georgia, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Sidhu Moose Wala | May 29, 2022 | 28 | Mansa, Punjab, India | Shooting | |
| Trouble | June 5, 2022 | 34 | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | Shooting during home invasion | |
| Notti Osama | July 9, 2022 | 14 | Manhattan, New York City, U.S. | Stabbing | |
| Zayar Thaw | July 23, 2022 | 41 | Yangon, Myanmar | Executed by Myanmar military junta | |
| JayDaYoungan | July 27, 2022 | 24 | Bogalusa, Louisiana, U.S. | Shooting | |
| PnB Rock | September 12, 2022 | 30 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Takeoff | November 1, 2022 | 28 | Houston, Texas, U.S. | Shooting | |
| AKA | February 10, 2023 | 35 | Durban, South Africa | Shooting | |
| Pacho El Antifeka | June 1, 2023 | 42 | Bayamón, Puerto Rico | Shooting | |
| August 08 | August 26, 2023 | 31 | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Shooting | |
| Bigidagoe | February 25, 2024 | 26 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Shooting | |
| C.Gambino | June 4, 2024 | 26 | Gothenburg, Sweden | Shooting | |
| Julio Foolio | June 23, 2024 | 26 | Tampa, Florida, U.S. | Shooting |
Bottom Line
Rappers have been victims of untimely demise since 1987. The names in the box above are the lyricists who died within the stated year to 2024.