Rappers The Greatest Rappers Who Are Already Dead

46.8k votes 9.1k voters 132.8k views 42 items

List Rules Vote up the hip hop artists who made the greatest bodies of work before they died

The Notorious B.I.G. once rapped, "I wonder if I died / Would tears come to her eyes / Forgive me for my disrespect / Forgive me for my lies." Biggie, we forgive you. Several famous rappers and hip-hop stars have unfortunately passed away. This list ranks the best of them. Some of these musicians were shot during an illegal activity, while others died of natural causes. Two famous rappers are suspected to have died in conjunction with the East/West rap rivalry of the 1990s.

Who is the best rapper who is already dead? Tupac Shakur tops our list. Tupac died on September 13, 1996 after being shot in Las Vegas. He was 25 years old. The Notorious B.I.G. died on March 9, 1997 after being murdered in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. Though many believe that his death was retaliation for the murder of Tupac, no arrests have been made in correlation with either murder.

Adam Yauch, aka, MCA of the Beastie Boys, died on May 4, 2012 after a three year battle with cancer. He was 47 years old. On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah was killed, along with eight others, when her flight to the Bahamas crashed shortly after takeoff. She was 22 years old.

Are you surprised that so many famous rappers have died? Take a look at this list and share your thoughts in the comments section.

1
4,196 727

Tupac Shakur All Eyez on Me, Me Against the World, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory Tupac Shakur died on September 13, 1996 after being shot in Las Vegas. He was 25 years old.

2
3,397 655

The Notorious B.I.G. Ready to Die, Life After Death, Born Again The Notorious B.I.G. died on March 9, 1997 after being shot in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. Many believe that his death was a retaliation for Tupac's death in their ongoing East Coast/West Coast rivalry.

3
2,689 764

Eazy-E Eazy-Duz-It, It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa, Eternal E In 1995, NWA rapper Eazy-E was diagnosed with AIDS when he went to the hospital to treat what he thought was asthma. He died from complications from AIDS less than a month later.

4
1,580 692

r-a-menizz added Big L The Big Picture, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, Children of the Corn: The Collector's Edition
On February 15, 1999, Big L was killed in his native Harlem after being shot nine times in the face and chest in a drive-by shooting.

5
1,670 555

Nate Dogg Music & Me, Welcome To The Dogg House, G-Funk Classics Nate Dogg died March 15, 2011 due to complications with multiple strokes. He was 41 years old.

6
1,361 679

Big Pun Capital Punishment, Yeeeah Baby, Endangered Species Big Pun died on February 7, 2000 after suffering a fatal heart attack in New York. He struggled with maintaining a healthy weight for much of his life.

7
1,185 535

Ol' Dirty Bastard Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, The Trials and Tribulations of Russell Jones, Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are) Ol' Dirty Bastard died on November 13, 2004 from a drug overdose at the age of 35.

8
993 591

Proof Searching for Jerry Garcia, Grown Man Shit, I Miss the Hip Hop Shop Proof was shot and killed in Detroit on April 11, 2006. He was 32 years old.

9
1,955 317

XXXTentacion
XXXTentacion was tragically shot and killed while sitting in a car in Florida on June 18, 2018.

10
765 228

Jay Clayton added Prodigy H.N.I.C., Return of the Mac, H.N.I.C. Pt. 2
Prodigy died June 20 2017 in Las Vegas N.V. at the age of 42 ... he died from a lifelong Battlle with Sickle-Cell Anaemia Disease, the average life expectancy ranges form 40 to 60 for people who suffer of this disease

11
579 522

J Dilla Donuts, The Shining, Jay Stay Paid J Dilla died as the result of a blood disease on February 10, 2006.

12
695 474

Guru Jazzmatazz, Volume 1, Guru's Jazzmatazz Guru died on April 19, 2010 after falling into a coma after having surgery due to cardiac arrest.

13
932 504

Aaliyah Aaliyah, One in a Million, I Care 4 U On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed when her airplane crashed shortly after takeoff. She was 22 years old.

14
537 487

r-a-menizz added Pimp C The Naked Soul of Sweet Jones, Pimpalation, The Sweet James Jones Stories
On December 4, 2007, Pimp C was found dead in his West Hollywood hotel room due to "purple drank" overdose.

15
508 335

Carlos Antonio Navarro Aguirre added Capital STEEZ King Steelo
On December 23, 2012, Capital STEEZ committed suicide by jumping off the rooftop of Cinematic Music Group headquarters in New York.

16
518 248

RichardBeecher added Mac Dre The Genie of the Lamp, Don't Hate The Player, Hate The Game
On November 1, 2004, Mac Dre died in a drive by shooting.

17
464 230

Boris Daems added Phife Dawg Ventilation: Da LP, Flawless
On March 22, 2016, Phife Dawg died from complications relating to diabetes at age 45.

18
471 370

Heavy D Vibes, Waterbed Hev, Heavy Heavy D died on November 8, 2011 after experiencing a a pulmonary embolism. He was 44 years old.

19
640 318

Lisa Lopes Supernova, Eye Legacy, N.I.N.A Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes was involved in a fatal car accident in Honduras on April 25, 2002. A documentary, entitled The Last Days of Left Eye, was made in commemeration.

20
339 202

openmind added Sean Price Monkey Barz, Jesus Price Supastar, Hood Anthems
On August 8, 2015, Sean Price died in his sleep at age 43 due to unknown reasons.

21
386 311

Adam Yauch Drum Machine Adam Yauch, aka, MCA of the Beastie Boys, died on May 4, 2012 after a three year battle with cancer. He was 47 years old.

22
387 305

Soulja Slim The Streets Made Me, Years Later... A Few Months After, Years Later Soulja Slim died on November 26, 2003 after being shot four times in New Orleans. He was 26 years old.

23
410 368

Lil Snupe Lil Snupe died after being shot in the chest on June 20, 2013.

24
282 165

bigmeth187 added DJ Screw Fallen Soldiers, 3 'n the Mornin': Part Two, Royalty of Rap
On November 16, 2000, DJ Screw died from a codeine overdose inside his Houston recording studio.

25
340 260

Jason Mizell Jason Mizell, aka, Jam Master Jay, was shot and killed on October 30, 2002. His murder remains unsolved.

26
267 289

elimentx3 added Eyedea The Many Faces of Oliver Hart (Or How Eye One the Write Too Think), Afraid to Dream
On October 16, 2010, Eyedea died in his sleep from an accidental drug overdose.

27
241 317

Chris Kelly Chris Kelly died from a drug overdose on May 1, 2013. He had cocaine, heroin and other drugs in his system at the time of his death.

28
211 266

Joe C. Kid Rock associate Joe C. died in his sleep on November 16, 2000. He suffered from coeliac disease which may have caused his dwarfism, which in turn caused a variety of additional medical conditions.

29
151 256

Stretch
On November 30, 1995, Stretch died in a drive by shooting on his way to see The Notorious B.I.G.

30
215 170

Jay Clayton added E Dubble His Hop Is Good, Two Tone Rebel, & Freestyle Fridays
E Dubble Died Feb 13 2017 at age 34, he had an infection that statred in his hand and eventually spreaded through out his entire body leading up to his death

31
112 251

Camoflauge Strictly 4 da Streets: Drugs Sex and Violence, Vol. 1, Keepin It Real On May 19, 2003, Camoflauge died after being gunned down. He was only 21 years old.

32
123 268

Big Moe The Best of Big Moe, City of Syrup, Purple World Big Moe died on October 14, 2007 after suffering a heart attack which left him in a week-long coma.

33
163 196

Chinx
On May 17, 2015, Chinx was shot dead in a drive-by shooting.

34
123 270

Freaky Tah Freaky Tah died on March 28, 1999. He was shot in the back of the head.

35
110 233

Dolla Who the Fuck Is That? Dolla was shot to death on May 18, 2009 at the age of 21.

36
103 234

Magnolia Shorty Monkey on tha D$ck Magnolia Shorty died on December 20, 2010 after being shot over 25 times in a drive-by shooting.

37
106 249

Lil Phat Turn the Beat Up, What's Happenin' On June 7, 2012, Lil Phat died after being shot multiple times outside of a hospital where his son was about to be born.

38
81 222

Big Bank Hank The Sugarhill Gang rapper Big Bank Hank died on November 11, 2014 from kidney complications due to cancer.

39
74 213

MC Trouble Gotta Get a Grip MC Trouble suffered from epilepsy since birth. On June 4, 1992, she died after experiencing heart failure induced by a seizure.

40
58 239

DJ Rashad Double Cup, Teklife, Volume 1: Welcome to the Chi DJ Rashad died on April 26, 2014 of a drug overdose. He was 34 years old.

41
31 14

Young Greatness Rich & Famous, Tried To Tell Em, Dollar For Hate

42
68 217

Camu Tao Blair Cosby: Cape Cod - Going for De Gold, Blair Cosby's: Cereal Carpens ('97 Season), Blair Cosby II: The Wali Era Camu Tao died from lung cancer on May 25, 2008.

1 4,196 727 Tupac Shakur All Eyez on Me, Me Against the World, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory Tupac Shakur died on September 13, 1996 after being shot in Las Vegas. He was 25 years old.

2 3,397 655 The Notorious B.I.G. Ready to Die, Life After Death, Born Again The Notorious B.I.G. died on March 9, 1997 after being shot in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. Many believe that his death was a retaliation for Tupac's death in their ongoing East Coast/West Coast rivalry.

3 2,689 764 Eazy-E Eazy-Duz-It, It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa, Eternal E In 1995, NWA rapper Eazy-E was diagnosed with AIDS when he went to the hospital to treat what he thought was asthma. He died from complications from AIDS less than a month later.

4 1,580 692 r-a-menizz added Big L The Big Picture, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, Children of the Corn: The Collector's Edition On February 15, 1999, Big L was killed in his native Harlem after being shot nine times in the face and chest in a drive-by shooting.

5 1,670 555 Nate Dogg Music & Me, Welcome To The Dogg House, G-Funk Classics Nate Dogg died March 15, 2011 due to complications with multiple strokes. He was 41 years old.

6 1,361 679 Big Pun Capital Punishment, Yeeeah Baby, Endangered Species Big Pun died on February 7, 2000 after suffering a fatal heart attack in New York. He struggled with maintaining a healthy weight for much of his life.

7 1,185 535 Ol' Dirty Bastard Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, The Trials and Tribulations of Russell Jones, Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are) Ol' Dirty Bastard died on November 13, 2004 from a drug overdose at the age of 35.

8 993 591 Proof Searching for Jerry Garcia, Grown Man Shit, I Miss the Hip Hop Shop Proof was shot and killed in Detroit on April 11, 2006. He was 32 years old.

9 1,955 317 XXXTentacion XXXTentacion was tragically shot and killed while sitting in a car in Florida on June 18, 2018.

10 765 228 Jay Clayton added Prodigy H.N.I.C., Return of the Mac, H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 Prodigy died June 20 2017 in Las Vegas N.V. at the age of 42 ... he died from a lifelong Battlle with Sickle-Cell Anaemia Disease, the average life expectancy ranges form 40 to 60 for people who suffer of this disease

11 579 522 J Dilla Donuts, The Shining, Jay Stay Paid J Dilla died as the result of a blood disease on February 10, 2006.

12 695 474 Guru Jazzmatazz, Volume 1, Guru's Jazzmatazz Guru died on April 19, 2010 after falling into a coma after having surgery due to cardiac arrest.

13 932 504 Aaliyah Aaliyah, One in a Million, I Care 4 U On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed when her airplane crashed shortly after takeoff. She was 22 years old.

14 537 487 r-a-menizz added Pimp C The Naked Soul of Sweet Jones, Pimpalation, The Sweet James Jones Stories On December 4, 2007, Pimp C was found dead in his West Hollywood hotel room due to "purple drank" overdose.

15 508 335 Carlos Antonio Navarro Aguirre added Capital STEEZ King Steelo On December 23, 2012, Capital STEEZ committed suicide by jumping off the rooftop of Cinematic Music Group headquarters in New York.

16 518 248 RichardBeecher added Mac Dre The Genie of the Lamp, Don't Hate The Player, Hate The Game On November 1, 2004, Mac Dre died in a drive by shooting.

17 464 230 Boris Daems added Phife Dawg Ventilation: Da LP, Flawless On March 22, 2016, Phife Dawg died from complications relating to diabetes at age 45.

18 471 370 Heavy D Vibes, Waterbed Hev, Heavy Heavy D died on November 8, 2011 after experiencing a a pulmonary embolism. He was 44 years old.

19 640 318 Lisa Lopes Supernova, Eye Legacy, N.I.N.A Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes was involved in a fatal car accident in Honduras on April 25, 2002. A documentary, entitled The Last Days of Left Eye, was made in commemeration.

20 339 202 openmind added Sean Price Monkey Barz, Jesus Price Supastar, Hood Anthems On August 8, 2015, Sean Price died in his sleep at age 43 due to unknown reasons.

21 386 311 Adam Yauch Drum Machine Adam Yauch, aka, MCA of the Beastie Boys, died on May 4, 2012 after a three year battle with cancer. He was 47 years old.

22 387 305 Soulja Slim The Streets Made Me, Years Later... A Few Months After, Years Later Soulja Slim died on November 26, 2003 after being shot four times in New Orleans. He was 26 years old.

23 410 368 Lil Snupe Lil Snupe died after being shot in the chest on June 20, 2013.

24 282 165 bigmeth187 added DJ Screw Fallen Soldiers, 3 'n the Mornin': Part Two, Royalty of Rap On November 16, 2000, DJ Screw died from a codeine overdose inside his Houston recording studio.

25 340 260 Jason Mizell Jason Mizell, aka, Jam Master Jay, was shot and killed on October 30, 2002. His murder remains unsolved.

26 267 289 elimentx3 added Eyedea The Many Faces of Oliver Hart (Or How Eye One the Write Too Think), Afraid to Dream On October 16, 2010, Eyedea died in his sleep from an accidental drug overdose.

27 241 317 Chris Kelly Chris Kelly died from a drug overdose on May 1, 2013. He had cocaine, heroin and other drugs in his system at the time of his death.

28 211 266 Joe C. Kid Rock associate Joe C. died in his sleep on November 16, 2000. He suffered from coeliac disease which may have caused his dwarfism, which in turn caused a variety of additional medical conditions.

29 151 256 Stretch On November 30, 1995, Stretch died in a drive by shooting on his way to see The Notorious B.I.G.

30 215 170 Jay Clayton added E Dubble His Hop Is Good, Two Tone Rebel, & Freestyle Fridays E Dubble Died Feb 13 2017 at age 34, he had an infection that statred in his hand and eventually spreaded through out his entire body leading up to his death

31 112 251 Camoflauge Strictly 4 da Streets: Drugs Sex and Violence, Vol. 1, Keepin It Real On May 19, 2003, Camoflauge died after being gunned down. He was only 21 years old.

32 123 268 Big Moe The Best of Big Moe, City of Syrup, Purple World Big Moe died on October 14, 2007 after suffering a heart attack which left him in a week-long coma.

33 163 196 Chinx On May 17, 2015, Chinx was shot dead in a drive-by shooting.

34 123 270 Freaky Tah Freaky Tah died on March 28, 1999. He was shot in the back of the head.

35 110 233 Dolla Who the Fuck Is That? Dolla was shot to death on May 18, 2009 at the age of 21.

36 103 234 Magnolia Shorty Monkey on tha D$ck Magnolia Shorty died on December 20, 2010 after being shot over 25 times in a drive-by shooting.

37 106 249 Lil Phat Turn the Beat Up, What's Happenin' On June 7, 2012, Lil Phat died after being shot multiple times outside of a hospital where his son was about to be born.

38 81 222 Big Bank Hank The Sugarhill Gang rapper Big Bank Hank died on November 11, 2014 from kidney complications due to cancer.

39 74 213 MC Trouble Gotta Get a Grip MC Trouble suffered from epilepsy since birth. On June 4, 1992, she died after experiencing heart failure induced by a seizure.

40 58 239 DJ Rashad Double Cup, Teklife, Volume 1: Welcome to the Chi DJ Rashad died on April 26, 2014 of a drug overdose. He was 34 years old.

41 31 14 Young Greatness Rich & Famous, Tried To Tell Em, Dollar For Hate

42 68 217 Camu Tao Blair Cosby: Cape Cod - Going for De Gold, Blair Cosby's: Cereal Carpens ('97 Season), Blair Cosby II: The Wali Era Camu Tao died from lung cancer on May 25, 2008.