The rap industry has never been a stranger to tragedy, but you might be surprised to
find out how we lost certain rap icons too soon.
Do you know which independent rapper was taken by COVID-19?
Keep watching to find out.
Born in Chicago, but raised in South Memphis, Young Dolph became a leader in the growing
Memphis scene by combining hard-edged and highly descriptive lyrics with the irresistible
dance beats of Southern rap.
His mixtapes made him a local hero in the 2000s, but by the mid-2010s, Young Dolph was
a national sensation, releasing hit albums like King of Memphis, Role Model, and Dum
and Dummer, as well as smash hit singles "100 Shots" and "Major."
On November 17, 2021, Young Dolph walked into Makeda's Butter Cookies in his hometown of
Memphis, a business he visited regularly and would often promote.
Shortly after he arrived, a car drove up to the bakery and two men brandishing firearms
emerged and began shooting into the store.
Young Dolph was killed in the gunfire.
The rapper was 36.
Rapper Slim 400 was raised in Compton, California, continuing the legacy of the iconic '90s gangsta
rap hotbed with story songs about life in the California underbelly.
He worked closely with YG, both at 400 Records and Pusha Ink, and released the solo album
BompTTon in 2021.
Slim 400 survived an attack in 2019, where he was shot nine times while visiting relatives
near his childhood home in Compton.
He explained to VladTV:
"So when I jump out to go see my family, like, I guess these dudes were already on the block
waiting for anybody to pull up."
Slim 400 was a fan of slain rapper Young Dolph.
A few weeks after his death, he posted a tribute to the musician on Instagram.
Just hours later, Slim 400 was gunned down in a drive-by shooting.
Inglewood police responded to the sound of gunshots and discovered the rapper laying
in a residential driveway suffering from a gunshot wound.
He received emergency treatment and was rushed to a hospital, where he died shortly thereafter.
According to initial police investigations, Slim 400 may have been involved in an escalating,
violent conflict between two rival Los Angeles gangs.
He was 33.
Throughout the 1990s, Michigan-based Kid Rock and his Twisted Brown Trucker Band combined
the vocal delivery of rap with heavy metal instrumentation, pioneering the then-new genre
of rap-rock.
Kid Rock and company broke into the mainstream in the latter part of the decade with hits
like "Bawitdaba" and "Cowboy".
A member of Kid Rock's entourage and backing band, Joe C. contributed to performances both
live and in the studio.
He added humor to the proceedings whenever he could, rapping boastfully about his size,
and donning wild stage costumes.
Joe C. was diagnosed with a serious case of Celiac disease as a child, which limited his
growth to a height of 3'9".
The disease also required him to take as many as 65 pills per day and undergo kidney dialysis
treatments.
Days after turning 26, Joe C.'s body was discovered by his mother in her Michigan home.
Fred the Godson was a certified rising star of hip-hop in the early 2010s, earning a spot
alongside Kendrick Lamar and Meek Mill in XXL Magazine's illustrious "Freshman Class"
of 2011.
Despite his popularity, the man born Frederick Thomas never issued a major-label release.
Nevertheless, he self-released many well-received mixtapes, including Armageddon and City of
God.
Fred the Godson remained consistently active throughout the tail of his career, releasing
four solo projects between 2017 and 2020, including March 2020's Payback.
Just weeks later, Fred the Godson tweeted an image of himself in a hospital room wearing
an oxygen mask and hooked up to a ventilator system.
It was the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, and the rapper had contracted the viral disease.
In the post, the rapper asked his fans to keep him in their prayers.
According to Complex, Fred the Godson recovered somewhat before falling ill again.
He died on April 23, 2020, at the age of 35.
According to Vulture, Jahseh Onfroy, better known as XXXTentacion, broke out after a series
of Soundcloud releases in 2014.
Within three years, he was scoring mainstream hits on the Billboard pop chart, like "Look
at Me" and "Jocelyn Flores," with albums 17 and ? hitting No. 2 and No. 1, respectively.
His music often confronted the topics of violence and struggling with mental illness.
Off the mic, XXXTentacion's life was even more troubled and violent.
In 2016, he assaulted his romantic partner, threatening to cut off her tongue, allegedly
because she was singing somebody else's songs.
A few months later, he held a knife to that same partner's throat when he suspected infidelity.
After she revealed that she was pregnant, Onfroy beat her, promised to kill her, and
locked her in an apartment until she escaped two days later.
The case was never resolved, as XXXTentacion was shot to death in Florida in June 2018.
The rapper was 20.
In the early '90s, there was pop-rap, gangsta rap, socially conscious rap, and then there
was the genre-defying P.M.
Dawn.
The New Jersey-based duo made up of brothers Prince Be and DJ Minutemix created danceable
rap music with elements of soul and psychedelic rock.
Prince Be delivered introspective lyrics in a combination of soulful belting and whispered
rapping.
P.M.
Dawn's unique style took their song "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" to No. 1 on the Billboard
Hot 100 — this was only the third time a rap song had ever topped the chart.
The duo made the top 10 a few more times with similarly spacy hits like "I'd Die Without
You" and "Looking Through Patient Eyes."
P.M.
Dawn's popularity faded, and the group stopped releasing albums in the late 1990s.
Meanwhile, Prince Be's health started to decline.
He suffered several complications from living with diabetes for years; in 2005, a stroke
paralyzed half of his body, and one of his legs was partially amputated.
After a diagnosis of renal kidney disease, he died in a New Jersey hospital in June 2016
at the age of 46.
A Tribe Called Quest were one of the most acclaimed and influential hip hop groups of
all time.
They helped introduce jazz sampling into rap and used their platform to look inward and
discuss social issues.
The quartet, consisting of DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Jarobi White
released many now-classic songs like "Can I Kick It," "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo,”"Scenario,"
and "Award Tour," before breaking up in 1998.
KQED reports that Phife Dawg was diagnosed with diabetes in 1990.
At the time, he was 19.
According to AllHipHop, he suffered complications from the metabolic disease and spent two years
on dialysis treatments awaiting a kidney transplant, which he received in 2008.
However, the transplant was unsuccessful and he needed another kidney just a few years
later.
A Tribe Called Quest reunited in 2015, making several TV appearances and beginning work
on a new record.
However, Phife Dawg died in March 2016 at the age of 45, before A Tribe Called Quest's
album We Got It From Here, Thank You for Your Service was completed or released.
If you or someone you know is struggling with domestic abuse, please call or chat online
with the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.