hip hop artists The Greatest Rappers Who Are Already Dead

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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.

list ordered by

1
2,507 402

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
2,039 362

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
1,586 481

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
1,010 307

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
937 335

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.

6
1,034 328

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.

7
752 257

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
609 277

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
386 247

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

10
490 215

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.

11
309 38

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

12
563 319

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.

Rappers Who Died Young

13
340 107

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.

14
291 159

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.

15
320 321

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.

16
279 103

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

17
324 241

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

Rank the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Inductees

18
436 200

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.

19
212 88

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.

20
261 184

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.

21
267 203

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
269 257

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

The Greatest White Rappers of All Time

23
203 185

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.

24
233 180

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

25
170 94

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.

26
158 156

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.

27
126 209

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.

15 Songs That Don't Mean What You Think They Do

28
141 67

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

29
85 161

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

30
11 38

Da Dough they are all shit albums anyway

31
60 153

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

32
75 179

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

The Best Underground Rappers

33
9 43

Lil Home State too shit to have any

34
68 177

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.

35
90 116

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

36
52 153

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.

37
50 144

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.

38
45 144

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

39
37 134

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

40
36 132

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.

41
30 156

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.

42
36 131

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 2,507 402 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 2,039 362 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 1,586 481 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 1,010 307 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.

5 937 335 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.

6 1,034 328 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.

7 752 257 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.

8 609 277 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.

9 386 247 J Dilla Donuts, The Shining, Jay Stay Paid J Dilla died as the result of a blood disease on February 10, 2006.

10 490 215 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.

11 309 38 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

12 563 319 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.

13 340 107 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.

14 291 159 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.

15 320 321 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.

16 279 103 Boris Daems added Phife Dawg Ventilation: Da LP, Flawless On March 22, 2016, Phife Dawg died from complications relating to diabetes at age 45.

17 324 241 Heavy D Vibes, Waterbed Hev, Heavy Heavy D died on November 8, 2011 after experiencing a a pulmonary embolism. He was 44 years old.

18 436 200 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.

19 212 88 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.

20 261 184 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.

21 267 203 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.

22 269 257 Lil Snupe Lil Snupe died after being shot in the chest on June 20, 2013.

23 203 185 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.

24 233 180 Jason Mizell Jason Mizell, aka, Jam Master Jay, was shot and killed on October 30, 2002. His murder remains unsolved.

25 170 94 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.

26 158 156 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.

27 126 209 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.

28 141 67 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

29 85 161 Stretch On November 30, 1995, Stretch died in a drive by shooting on his way to see The Notorious B.I.G.

30 11 38 Da Dough they are all shit albums anyway

31 60 153 Camoflauge Strictly 4 da Streets: Drugs Sex and Violence^! Vol. 1, Keepin It Real, I Represent On May 19, 2003, Camoflauge died after being gunned down. He was only 21 years old.

32 75 179 Freaky Tah Freaky Tah died on March 28, 1999. He was shot in the back of the head.

33 9 43 Lil Home State too shit to have any

34 68 177 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.

35 90 116 Chinx On May 17, 2015, Chinx was shot dead in a drive-by shooting.

36 52 153 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.

37 50 144 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.

38 45 144 Dolla Who the Fuck Is That? Dolla was shot to death on May 18, 2009 at the age of 21.

39 37 134 Big Bank Hank The Sugarhill Gang rapper Big Bank Hank died on November 11, 2014 from kidney complications due to cancer.

40 36 132 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.

41 30 156 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.

42 36 131 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.