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.
1. 2Pac
His real is 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.
Takeoff
His real name is 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, and that’s when cops got the call for a man shot at a bowling alley called 810 Billiards & Bowling Houston.
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.
Chinx Drugz
Chinx drugs (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 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 his friend French Montana, a hip-hop superstar from the Bronx.
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.
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
Related stories
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.
Jimmy Wopo
Jimmy Wopo: “Pittsburgh is a dangerous city too, but that’s not Wiz Khalifa & Mac Miller’s lane”
Rapper jimmy wopo was fatally shot in 2018 in 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 characterization of Wopo emerged with a police source calling Wopo a hill district terror .”
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 p[lug. 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 riffle, 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.
Jam Master Jay
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 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.
