Nov 02 2022

2Pac to Nipsey Hussle: 15 Famous Rappers Who Were Shot Dead

By David Presley

Here, we list a few famous rappers who were shot dead through gun violence. Hip hop has been closely associated with images of gun violence since its inception. It’s common for rappers all over the world to incorporate gangsta lyrics about their street bona fides and borrow ideas and lines from crime classics like Scarface and Boyz n the Hood. For most rappers, the music aims to express what’s already happening in their neighborhoods rather than be the source of it. Be that as it may, this has led to very talented rappers becoming victims of gun violence often resulting in death.

1. 2Pac

2Pac (real name Tupac Shakur) died on September 13, 1996 at the age of 25 in Las Vegas Nevada. The rapper known for his gangsta lyrics was shot four times in a street ambush near the gambling city’s lavish strip. The car he rode in was driven by the head of Death Row Records, Marion “Suge″ Knight, who was slightly wounded.

Before being shot, 2Pac had gone to watch Mike Tyson fight with Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After the fight, Shakur and other members of the Death Row entourage – which reportedly included several bodyguards – got into an argument with a young black man while leaving the event. The quarrel escalated into a fight in which either Shakur or members of the entourage knocked the young man to the floor and began kicking and punching him.

Later that night, 2Pac was heading for an event to be held at Knight’s Club 662. According to the police and witnesses, a white, four-door, late-model Cadillac with four people inside pulled up beside the BMW they were driving in, and a volley of about 13 gunshots from a high-caliber handgun ripped into the sedan. 2pac was shot and rushed to hospital. Just about a week after sustaining 4 bullet wounds, the trouble-plagued rapper died. Since then, there have been no arrests related to his death up to this day.

2. The Notorious BIG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB1yDv6OgWY

Christopher Wallace (also known as The Notorious B.I.G. Biggie Smalls. Big Poppa) is considered one of the greatest rappers in history due to his distinctive laidback lyrical delivery and often grim content. The Notorious B.I.G. was at the height of his fame when he was murdered in Los Angeles in 1997. And to this day, no one knows who shot Biggie Smalls. Some have theorized that it was retaliation for the fatal shooting of Tupac Shakur months earlier. None of these claims were substantial, and the person who shot and killed Wallace is still not known.

The East Coast rapper had traveled to Los Angeles to promote his upcoming album, Life After Death, and film a music video for “Hypnotize”. After attending a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in L.A., Biggie got into the front passenger seat of a green Suburban, driven by Gregory “G-Money” Young, according to Rolling Stone. Junior M.A.F.I.A. rapper James “Lil’ Caesar” Lloyd, and B.I.G.’s best friend, Damien “D-Rock” Butler, rode in the back.

They stopped at a red light on Wilshire Boulevard and South Fairfax Avenue 15 minutes later when a Chevrolet Impala SS pulled up and fired off shots before vanishing. Wallace died when the unidentified shooters fired four bullets into his body. His autopsy – released 15 years after his death – showed only the final gunshot was fatal. It entered his right hip and struck his colon, liver, heart and left lung. He was 24 at the time of his death.

3. Takeoff

Takeoff (real name Kirshnik Khari Ball- born June 18, 1994), was shot and killed at age 28 in Houston on November 1, 2022. Law enforcement sources, and multiple witnesses, stated that the incident went down shortly after 2:30 AM, that’s when cops got the call for a man shot at a bowling alley called 810 Billiards & Bowling Houston. The rapper was one-third of Migos, a hip-hop trio from Lawrenceville, Georgia. Migos were one of the most influential groups of their generation, pioneering a style of rapping in choppy, staccato triplets known as the “Migos flow”. The band, who split in early 2022, scored several international hits including “Bad and Boujee”, “Versace”, “Slippery” and “Fight Night”. They put out a trilogy of albums called Culture, Culture II and Culture III, with the first two albums hitting number one on the Billboard 200 album chart.

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4. Jam Master Jay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6RFVGmV5js

Jam Master Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was gunned down in his studio in Hollis, Queens, on Oct. 30, 2002. Two men Washington and Jordan were charged in the long-unsolved killing of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay, saying it had been payback after a failed cocaine deal.

Prosecutors say Jay had arranged to purchase 10 kilograms of cocaine, which would be distributed in Maryland by Washington, Jordan and others. When Jay backed out of the deal, prosecutors say, the two decided to kill him.

Washington and Jordan broke into Jay’s studio on the night of Oct. 30, 2002. Washington allegedly initially pointed a gun at another individual in the studio; as he was doing so, Jordan allegedly fired two shots, one of which struck Jay in the head at close range, killing him almost instantly.

5. Dolla

Atlanta rapper Dolla was shot and killed in an altercation outside a shopping mall in Los Angeles on Monday, May 18th, 2009. According to the Los Angeles Times, the up-and-coming rapper, who signed to Akon’s Konvict Muzik label in 2007, had flown to Los Angeles that very morning to continue work on his oft-delayed solo debut, “A Dolla And A Dream,” which had been slated for a summer release. He went to the Beverly Center to shop, his publicist Sue Vannasing told the newspaper. After the shooting, Burton was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center a few blocks from the mall, where he died, police said.

6. Chinx Drugz

Chinx Drugz (born Lionel Pickens), was gunned down at a red light in Queens. According to the police, two men arrested in connection to the 2015 murder, Quincy Homere, 32, and Jamar Hill, 26, “hunted” and killed the budding the New York City rapper due to a clash that took place while Chinx was incarcerated. Chinx and Homere—an aspiring rapper himself who went by the name Qwality—fought each other on Sept. 27, 2009, while both were housed on Rikers Island. Chinx Drugz was an up-and-coming rapper from Far Rockaway and a protege to friend French Montana, a hip hop superstar from the Bronx.

7. Bankroll Fresh

Bankroll Fresh, whose real name is Trentavious White, died after a shootout outside of Street Execs Studio in northwest Atlanta on March 24, 2016. A brief video clip recorded the altercation between the rapper and No Plug. No Plug is seen walking into Atlanta’s Street Execs Studio. Bankroll quickly confronts him and a fight erupts. Neither of the men had guns at the time but several other men present at the scene were reportedly armed.

Minutes after the altercation, the men peel away from the scene in a Dodge Charger only to return with firearms. Bankroll meets them outside with a SKS rifle, as he’s backed by his entourage who also have their guns drawn. Bankroll fires the first shot toward the vehicle and the men in the Charger retaliate, shattering the glass on the front door. It’s at this point that authorities believe Bankroll suffered a bullet to his right hip. The “M.O.B.” rapper is later seen being carried out of the recording studio to be taken to the local area hospital. Bankroll died of his injuries just a few hours later.

8. Jimmy Wopo

Rapper Jimmy Wopo was fatally shot in 2018 at his Pittsburgh neighborhood. Police said they found Wopo who was 21 at the time and another man shot inside a car. The vehicle was in the middle of the street and had been struck several times. Both men were transported to a local hospital where the rapper later died. Police said the other victim, who was not identified in a press release, was transported in stable condition. Wopo died the same day fellow young rapper XXXTentacion was gunned down during an apparent robbery in Florida. Born Travon Smart, Wopo first came to fame with his 2016 song “Elm Street,” which documented his life in his beloved hometown. But, following the shooting, a very different characterizations of Wopo emerged with a police source calling Wopo a “Hill District terror.”

9. Nipsey Hussle

Nipsey Hussle (real name Ermias Asghedom) and Eric Holder both grew up in the same Los Angeles neighborhood, were both part of the gang known as the Rollin’ 60s, and were both aspiring rappers. On March 31, 2019, after Hussle calmly told Holder he was gaining a reputation as a “snitch,” the 29-year-old Holder shot and killed the 33-year-old Hussle. Nipsey Hussle was fatally shot in front of his own Marathon Clothing store. He often promoted black people taking ownership of property, music masters and a culture that didn’t often have compensation put back in the hands of those who created it.

10. Pop Smoke

New York rapper Pop Smoke died at just 20 years old in February 2020 in Los Angeles when four teenagers drove up to his house in an attempted robbery. According to new testimony from a detective involved in the case, Pop, born Bashar Jackson, was fatally shot by a 15-year-old who was one of the five people arrested in connection with the rapper’s slaying.

Jackson received an Amiri gift bag the day before he was killed. He posted a photo of the gift bag to his Instagram which showed the address and his manager called him and told him to take it down, but it was too late. At the time of the break-in the teenagers entered the home through the window where Jackson’s companion, Amelia Rose, was laying in bed. She told Los Angeles Det. Christian Carrasco the men were wearing ski masks, and one said, “Shut the f**k up. Do you want to die?” They entered the bathroom where Jackson was showering with the intent to steal his gold chain and watch. Rose said she heard a gunshot and as the men fled she rushed out of the room to find Jackson laying at the bottom of the stairs. Police responded to her 911 call and Jackson was rushed to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Hollywood where he was pronounced dead.

11. XXXTentacion

The 20-year-old, XXXTentacion (born Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy), had been visiting Riva’s MotorSports in Pompano Beach, Florida, when he was robbed and shot dead in broad daylight on 18 June, 2018. CCTV clip, played at Broward County Court for the first time during a hearing on Thursday, showed the rapper walking into the dealership followed closely by two men who buy masks and then leave. The rapper is seen getting back into his £115,000 BMW and prepare to leave the car park when a dark-colored Dodge Journey 4×4 blocks his exit. Video footage shows two masked men jumping out of the passenger side doors of the car and racing over to him. A struggle ensues and the 20-year-old is shot dead at point-blank range. The men fled the scene with a Louis Vuitton bag containing $50,000 in cash, police said.

12. King Von

Chicago rapper King Von was killed in a shooting outside a club in Atlanta in 2020. The shooting happened after the 26-year-old’s album release party for “Welcome to O’Block,” a nod to the area around 64th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on the South Side where he was raised. King Von, whose real name is Dayvon Bennett, was taken to an area hospital, where he died.

13. Young Dolph

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx2e9_l3CRA

Young Dolph real name Adolph Robert Thornton Jr, was gunned down in 2021 while buying cookies, inside Makeda’s Cookies in his hometown South Memphis. Dolph was in Memphis for his annual Thanksgiving giveaway. The artist, who mostly lives in Atlanta, was scheduled to hand out turkeys in his old neighborhood. His plan was to head to the event after his visit to the cookie store where he was shot and murdered. Both of the gunmen in connection with the murder were eventually caught by the police.

14. Drakeo the Ruler

On December 18, 2021, the rapper Drakeo the Ruler was murdered. It happened backstage at a festival in Los Angeles, his hometown. A group of 40 or so people ambushed Drakeo. One of them stabbed him to death. Following his acquittal in a murder case that had trapped him behind bars for nearly three years, he released two full-length albums. But just as his career was just beginning to flourish, it was cut shot.

15. Sidhu Moose Wala

Punjabi rapper-turned-politician Sidhu Moose Wala, who is credited with popularizing rap in rural areas, was shot dead on 29 May 2022 when his car was ambushed by unidentified gunmen. His body had 19 bullet injury injuries and he died within 15 minutes of being shot, according to the post-mortem report. Police at the time said the killing was likely the result of an “inter-gang rivalry.”