Our initial offering garnered quite the response. Of course, most of it revolved around who was left off the list instead of who was one it. So, for clarification, we were honoring only five of Hip Hop’s fallen soldiers. This time, we’ve come back to honor at a lot more. These 11 emcees or emcee/producers have left an incredible legacy after them. For some, it was a tale of how great they may have been. For others, diseases ravished their bodies while Hip Hop healed their souls.
So these eleven deaths were incredibly important when they happened and they remain just as poignant today. Some of them remain unsolved while others were tragic because of the drug that killed them. Regardless of circumstance, however, all of them were key emcees that left a huge hole in all our hearts. And they will be remembered, always.
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J Dilla
Dilla is one of the most important producers of our era. Everyone knows that, but it’s his legacy that continues reverberate throughout Hip Hop culture. He’s inspired so many different artists and producers — at least as many as he’s produced with during his life. His focus on sultry, soul beats helped shape the tunes of the 90s, providing a backdrop for some of the most beloved tracks of our generation. His end at the hands of Lupus also shined Hip Hop’s eye on the disease.
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Big Pun
Punisher’s life was so impactful in the Puerto Rican, Spanish Harlem community and in the latin community beyond in one part because he gave Hip Hop a voice in a demo that loved and contributed to Hip Hop in numerous ways. But also because the man could just rap his ass off. His debut Capital Punishment is a certified Hip Hop classic, and although the Punisher was a big man, nothing was bigger than giving the under thanked Latin community the place in Hip Hop culture that they deserved.
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Big L
It’s a classic hood story. A dude makes it out his circumstances and just before he’s about to get his shot at the big time he ends up on the news, dead. That wasn’t quite the case with Big L, who tore up the New York scene as one of the best lyricists in a time of dope lyricists with his biting wordplay and professor like delivery. Sure Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous was dope, but the big time awaited him on a label that could understand him in Roc-a-Fella records. The world turns in a crazy way, however, and who knows how having a fellow Harlemite of a more logical bend could have assuaged Damon and Jay’s relationship over the years. Alas, it was never meant to be, and to add insult to injury, his murder remains unsolved.
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Mac Dre
Mac Dre started Thizz entertainment from a jail cell, rhyming out an entire project over the phone. But it wasn’t even his first label The man is a bay area legend known for his straight forward delivery with real-as-fuck lyrics laid out over jolly Oak-town beats. Mac Dre was a part of a life in which every word he rhymed was the real deal, and with all of that, and all of the contributions he’s made to Bay Area rap, Mac is a sorely missed pioneer that helped bring the thizzle sound that’s dominating charts now mainstream.
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Proof
The story surrounding Proof’s ill-fated demise in a hail of bullets at a local establishment in Detroit remains filled with conflicted tellings. Did the bouncer shoot Proof that night or did someone else? Eminem, racked with grief at the site of his right-hand-man, in a casket cried and rocked and cried some more. The death rocked the entire Shady crew, as well. Soon, Obie Trice would go off on his own, and Royce Da 5’9 would, bereft with grief, make a series of decisions that continued to upset things. But just who was Proof and what did he mean to Hip Hop? His debut, Searching For Jerry Garcia was introspective and Detroit to the core. But it was his management of his two friends careers (Eminem and Obie) that made him so invaluable. From picking instrumentals to pouring ideas into the two emcees, the proof was in the pudding.
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A$AP Yams
In an interview earlier this year with Joey Fatts, the Long Beach rapper/producer called Steven “A$AP Yams” Rodriguez the Hip Hop’s Yoda. Besides formulating the branding and careers of A$AP Mob, he’s been involved in the careers of artists including Bodega Bamz and Fatts. In terms of New York Hip Hop’s renaissance, Yams was at the center in some capacity. The first thing on his agenda was ensuring A$AP Rocky’s success and he succeeded with flying colors. It’s safe to say that the city’s rap scene hasn’t been the same since his death due to overdose.
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Chris Lighty
Chris Lighty’s story of working under Russell Simmons to co-founding management company Violator can be considered the great American story. The same guy who helped broker 50 Cent’s historic deal with Vitaminwater got Sprite to recognize Hip Hop’s importance in marketing and represented rap’s best from Nas to Missy Elliot was seen a pure power player. To this day, it’s hard to find anyone on an executive level that’s impacted Hip-Hop the way Lighty has. This makes the circumstances of his death so murky. According to reports, Lighty was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. Then again, family and associates call the whole ordeal foul play.
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Soulja Slim
It’s a shame Soulja Slim’s only number one hit on Juvenile’s “Slow Motion” was released posthumously. Shot and killed in front of his mother’s lawn the day before Thanksgiving in 2003, his death sent shockwaves throughout Hip Hop. Doesn’t matter as the New Orleans rapper became a local legend within the city’s Hip Hop community. Originally a No Limit soldier before breaking off on his own, many consider Give It 2 Em Raw legitimately an underrated classic. Artists ranging from Lil Wayne to Lil B have found inspiration in James Adarryl Tapp. Though the alleged murderer was never charged for the crime due to lack of evidence, he was found murdered nearly the same way years later.
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Lord Infamous
The Scarecrow himself played an integral part in the rise of Three 6 Mafia. Adding to the group’s horrorcore esthetic, the hauntingly semi-high pitched voice of Lord Infamous could be considered fairly unique. Plus, who can’t deny how much of a stoner classic “Where Is Da Bud” still is twenty years later. He even found himself a part of the Memphis group’s relaunch as Da Mafia 6ix and their amazing 2013 comeback album Da 6ix Commandments. Sadly, months after the release of that project, he died of a second heart attack(this first being in 2010). That didn’t stop Da Mafia 6ix from symbolically taking his casket on stage during their 2014 tour. Thankfully, some unreleased vocals of Mr. Ricky Dunigan made this year’s Watch What U Wish.
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Stack Bundles
Byrdgame member Stack Bundles was only 24-years-old when he was murdered in Queens. As his profile grew, he remained in the borough’s Far Rockaway after getting a hefty co-sign from Jim Jones. Before then, Bundles found himself aligned to DJ Clue’s Desert Storm. Interestingly enough, Chinx was serving four years for robbery and drug charges around time. According to recent reports, the deaths of both slain rappers may be linked. If there’s a lesson to be learned from Rayquon Elliott’s murder, maybe moving away from the very dangerous environment one raps about is a better idea.
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Jam Master Jay
Jam Master Jay’s murder is still shrouded in mystery. But the man that was one-third of Run DMC put scratching and DJ’ing on the map in the minds of mainstream America. Not only did he provide the backdrop by which Run DMC flourished, but he broke the careers of legendary folks like Onyx and even a young 50 Cent. As one of the most important DJ’s of all time, his legacy has left a huge imprint on the culture of Hip Hop, on which DJ’s are the backbone.
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Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant that has contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Features Editor for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter @drejones.
Ural Garrett is a Los Angeles-based journalist and HipHopDX’s Senior Features Writer. When not covering music, video games, films and the community at large, he’s in the kitchen baking like Anita. Follow him on Twitter @UralG.
