HipHopDX compiled a list of 35 Hip Hop figures who passed away in 2021 as part of our year-end content. Among the 35 deaths, over 65 percent of them were violent — Young Dolph was gunned down in his hometown of Memphis last November, Drakeo The Ruler was fatally stabbed in Los Angeles a month later and multiple aspiring local rappers were shot to death.
While Hip Hop has endured its share of murders over the decades — The Notorious B.I.G., Big L, Tupac Shakur and Jam Master Jay, to name a few — the frequency of killings have ramped up in recent years. Speaking to Financial Times, RZA gave his observations on the disturbing trend.
“Growing up in the golden age of Hip Hop, we lost maybe like a couple of artists but not a dozen artists or more,” the Wu-Tang Clan legend said. “Sometimes Hip Hop music glamorizes certain things. It glamorizes prison life, it glamorizes gangsters and thugs. I understand that, because I grew out of that.
Remembering Those We Lost In 2021
“But it doesn’t give you the total tragedy of what that can end up being, nor are we being represented with a lot of alternatives. The point being made is there was more bounce, there was more substance. Hip Hop has become one-sided.”
A double homicide hit close to the Wu-Tang Clan family last August when Wu affiliates and members of the Ol’ Dirty Bastard-founded Hip Hop group Brooklyn Zu — 12 O’Clock and Murdock — were found shot to death.
According to Fox 12, the shooting took place in Northeast Portland around 5:19 a.m. local time. Officers were called to the scene with reports of shots fired in the 3600 block of Northeast 82nd Avenue. No further details were available.
RZA is preparing to release his new album with DJ Scratch, Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater. The project is scheduled to arrive on March 4 via 36 Chambers ALC/MNRK Music Group. To coincide with the announcement, RZA and Scratch dropped a new video for the title track earlier this month. Check it out below.
someone with an axe to grind.
As he rightfully should. Not many can say they influenced this culture like RZA
The south ruined the culture. Period. “The south got something’ to say”. Well, you’ve had the mic now for 15 years and have said nothing, except “Look at all my money and my teef!!”. When hiphop was in the East, it was cool, when the West had the crown, it was cool. The South took it and destroyed it with ignorance.
Outkast and Goodie Mob albums were nOTHING like that. SCARFACE geto Boys and UGK either #SouthernRoyalty
They were dope artists, but the exceptions don’t prove the rule. 90% of southern rappers promoted ignorance after Outkast blew up.
violence culture, gang culture, disrespect for women, it all came from the west actually
I’m sorry but gang culture was a thing before the west ever existed. These were all hustles from Day 1.
RZA is right – lot of these new rappers sound intelligent in their late 20s and 30s and still it’s n this n that all kind of dope dealing stories and killing opps. Then you have the mumble rappers that are all gang members – Wu-Tang was never thug like that. They always told stories and originally the kung fu was supposed to deflect the negative street energy of some of the rap subject matter. RZA was always trying to elevate the culture
Gotta be a gangster to rap in this era