Rap The Greatest Rappers Who Are Already Dead

41.9k votes 8.1k voters 116.3k views 43 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
3,756 651

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
3,056 569

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
2,410 690

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
1,421 589

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
1,270 596

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
1,526 498

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
1,081 469

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
913 505

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
528 458

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

10
639 414

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
639 175

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
1,426 184

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

13
846 464

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
478 446

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
447 300

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
473 219

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
413 202

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
430 343

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
590 290

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
305 180

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
351 292

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
350 285

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
377 346

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

24
312 245

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

25
243 155

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
246 266

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
211 296

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
198 245

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
130 242

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

30
197 148

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
97 230

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
114 251

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

33
106 251

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.

34
144 181

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

35
93 216

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

36
89 214

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
93 231

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
66 194

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.

39
67 207

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

40
48 222

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
58 198

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.

42
34 168

Da Dough they are all shit albums anyway

43
28 158

Lil Home State too shit to have any

1 3,756 651 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 3,056 569 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 2,410 690 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 1,421 589 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 1,270 596 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 1,526 498 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 1,081 469 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.

8 913 505 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.

9 528 458 J Dilla Donuts, The Shining, Jay Stay Paid J Dilla died as the result of a blood disease on February 10, 2006.

10 639 414 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.

11 639 175 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 1,426 184 XXXTentacion XXXTentacion was tragically shot and killed while sitting in a car in Florida on June 18, 2018.

13 846 464 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.

14 478 446 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.

15 447 300 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.

16 473 219 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.

17 413 202 Boris Daems added Phife Dawg Ventilation: Da LP, Flawless On March 22, 2016, Phife Dawg died from complications relating to diabetes at age 45.

18 430 343 Heavy D Vibes, Waterbed Hev, Heavy Heavy D died on November 8, 2011 after experiencing a a pulmonary embolism. He was 44 years old.

19 590 290 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.

20 305 180 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.

21 351 292 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.

22 350 285 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.

23 377 346 Lil Snupe Lil Snupe died after being shot in the chest on June 20, 2013.

24 312 245 Jason Mizell Jason Mizell, aka, Jam Master Jay, was shot and killed on October 30, 2002. His murder remains unsolved.

25 243 155 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.

26 246 266 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.

27 211 296 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.

28 198 245 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.

29 130 242 Stretch On November 30, 1995, Stretch died in a drive by shooting on his way to see The Notorious B.I.G.

30 197 148 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 97 230 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.

32 114 251 Freaky Tah Freaky Tah died on March 28, 1999. He was shot in the back of the head.

33 106 251 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.

34 144 181 Chinx On May 17, 2015, Chinx was shot dead in a drive-by shooting.

35 93 216 Dolla Who the Fuck Is That? Dolla was shot to death on May 18, 2009 at the age of 21.

36 89 214 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 93 231 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 66 194 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.

39 67 207 Big Bank Hank The Sugarhill Gang rapper Big Bank Hank died on November 11, 2014 from kidney complications due to cancer.

40 48 222 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 58 198 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.

42 34 168 Da Dough they are all shit albums anyway

43 28 158 Lil Home State too shit to have any