Enlarged March 27, 2008 (first published December 5, 2002) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) –
A study published in the May 2003 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that students who listen to violent music are more likely to act violently. “Across five studies, we found that violent lyrics do increase violent thinking and aggressive feelings,” said lead researcher Craig Anderson of Iowa State University.
In 2007 the police in Colorado Springs issued a warning that gangsta rap is contributing to the rise in violence and murders in their area.
In a pathetic attempt to defend rap against the police charge, one rapper said: “When two cowboys got into an argument at a saloon, went outside and had a draw, nobody blamed the music that was playing at the saloon” (“Colorado police link rise in violence to music,” Goupstate.com, Sept. 3, 2007). But cowboy saloon songs didn’t wind people up into a violent rage against society and urge them to murder and rape and shoot police officers and treat women like dogs.
Rap or Hip Hop is violent music, and it is not surprising that it is accompanied by violence.
The following are some of the cases in which rappers themselves have died untimely deaths because of the violence, drug abuse, and immorality that is glorified in rap music.
We wouldn’t even try to document the untimely deaths of common rap lovers, because they are off of the news radar screens, but the number would doubtless run into the thousands if not the tens of thousands.
Rapper Scot Sterling (aka Scot La Rock), whose debut album was titled “Criminal Minded,” died in August 1987 at age 25 of a gunshot wound.
King Tubby, who invented the dubbing process that was popularized by rappers, was murdered in 1989 when he was 58 years old.
Rapper Michael Menson, of the group Double Trouble died in 1989 at age 29 when a gang soaked him in gasoline and set him afire. Double Trouble had a hit that same year titled “Street Tuff.”
MC Rock, rapper with The Almighty RSO, was stabbed to death in 1990 at roughly age 28.
Trouble T-Roy (Troy Dixon), rapper with Heavy D and the Boyz, fell off a balcony after a concert in 1990 at age 22.
Brandon Mitchell, rapper with Wreckx-N-Effect, was shot to death in 1990 at about age 20 during an argument over a woman.
Rapper Michael Robinson (a.k.a. The Mac) was shot dead in Vallejo, California, in about 1990 while sitting in his car with his pregnant girlfriend. He was about 20 years old.
Charizma, rapper with Peanut Butter Wolf, was shot to death in 1993 at age 20.
Deah Dame, rapper with Damian Dame, died in a car crash in 1994 at age 35.
Eazy-E (Eric Wright) of N.W.A., one of the founders of Gangsta rap, died of AIDS in 1995 at age 31. His lyrics focused on themes such as guns, drugs, anti-law enforcement, and deviant sex. He had seven children by six different women.
Mr. Cee, rapper with R.B.L. Posse (Ruthless By Law), died after being shot nine times on New Year’s morning of 1996 at about age 30.
Rapper Hitman (Ricky Herd), was shot to death in 1995 at age 24.
Randy Walker (aka Stretch), of Live Squad, died of unknown cause in 1995 at age 27.
Tupac Shakur (aka 2Pac, Makaveli), a gangsta rap superstar who founded the Outlawz Immortalz after he was released from prison in 1995, was shot to death a year later at age 25. Time Warner Music helped pay Shakur’s $1.4 million bail. Outlaw is an acronym for Operating Under Thug Laws as Warriors. The members of the group took the names of various tyrants, brutal dictators, and enemies of America such as Fidel Castro, Idi Amin, and Saddam Hussein.
Yafeu Fula (aka Yaki Kadafi, Young Hollywood), of the Outlawz Immortalz, was shot to death in 1996 two months after the group’s founder Tupac Shakur. He was shot by a cousin of Napoleon, another member of Outlawz.
Rapper Seagram Miller was shot to death in Oakland, California, in August 1996 at age 26.
Rappin’ Ron of Oakland, California, who recorded with Cell Block Records, died of a car crash in January 1997.
Rapper Young Lay of Vallejo, California, barely survived a gunshot wound to the head in 1997, but his baby was kidnapped and his live-in girlfriend died in an arson house fire.
Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie Smalls) (real name Christopher Wallace), gangsta rapper, was shot to death in 1997 at age 24. This was only three years after the release of his successful album “Ready to Die.” This album was filled with cursing, violence, and immorality. One cut was titled “Suicidal Thoughts,” and Notorious B.I.G. sang, “When I die, -----, I wanna go to hell.”
San Francisco Rapper JoJo White of Bored Stiff was shot to death in 1997.
Rapper DJ Caravan of FunkSoulJaz died in 1997 of unknown cause.
Gangsta Rapper Dion Stewart (aka The True Lesson Giver) of the duo Black Dynasty was shot to death while trying to rob a convenience store in 1997 at about age 30.
Fat Pat (Patrick Hawkins), rapper who recorded immoral songs, was shot to death in 1998 at age 26.
Rapper DJ Crazy Rak died in 1998 in a hotel fire in San Francisco. He was about 32 years old.
Luis “Papo” Deschamps, rapper with Sandy y Papo, died in a car crash in 1999 at age 23.
Malcolm Howard, rapper with 4 Black Faces, was shot to death execution style in 1999 at roughly age 30.
MC Big L (Lamont Coleman), rapper with Diggin’ In the Crates Crew, was shot to death outside his home in 1999 at age 23.
Rapper MC Ant was shot to death in 1999 at roughly age 35.
Karnail Pitts (aka Bugz), of D12, died after he was shot three times and run over with a car in an altercation in 1999. He was about 30 years old.
Freaky Tah (Raymond Rogers), member of Lost Boyz, was shot to death while leaving a nightclub in New York City at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning in March 1999 at age 27.
Matthew Roberts of Blaggers I.T.A. died in February 2000 at age 36 of drug related causes.
Q-Don (Raeneal Quann), rapper, was shot to death outside a Philadelphia nightclub in April 2000 at roughly age 30.
Yusef Afloat Muhammad, rapper with The Nonce, was found dead alongside a Los Angeles freeway in May 2000 at roughly age 28.
Big Pun (aka Big Punisher) (born Christopher Rios) died in 2000 of a heart attack at age 28.
Johnny Burns (aka Mausburg) was robbed and shot to death in his hometown of Compton, California, in 2000 at age 21.
Bruce Mayfield (aka Chip Banks and Bankie), rapper with The American Cream Team, was shot to death over a money dispute in November 2000 at age 30.
DJ Screw (Robert Davis, Jr.), inventor of a hypnotic, slowed-down, drug-influenced style of rap music, died in November 2000 of a drug-induced heart attack at age 30. He had long abused drugs and alcohol.
Erik Carson (aka Eclipse) was shot to death at 1:30 a.m. on November 14, 2000, in Oakland, California, at age 23.
Bruce Washington (aka Hussein Fatal), of the Outlawz, was imprisoned in 2000 for slashing a person’s face and stomach and another person’s arm and chest with a box cutter.
Lloyd “Mooseman” Roberts, rapper who worked with Iggy Pop, Ice-T, and Body Count, died in a drive by shooting in February 2001 at roughly age 28.
Prince Ital Joe, reggae and rapper who worked with Tupac and Snoop Dogg, died in a car crash in May 2001 at age 37 or 38.
Tonnie Sheppard, rapper and cousin of rapper Haf-A-Mil, was stabbed to death in a recording studio during a fight with studio executives in May 2001 at age 38 or 39.
Coughnut, rapper with Ill Mannered Posse, died in a car crash in September 2001 at age 33. The California Highway Patrol report said that alcohol was probably a factor in the crash that killed two other people, including rapper D Mac.
Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, singer with rap group TLC, died in a car crash in April 2002 at age 30. A few days before her own death, Lisa had hit and killed a 10-year-old boy with her car in Honduras.
Jam Master Jay, rapper with the popular group Run-DMC, was shot to death in his recording studio in October 2002 at age 37 by an unknown assailant. This is the latest in a long string of violence associated with rappers, who produce a style of music that is infamously violent in nature (though Jam Master Jay himself was more positive than most).
Rapper Speedy Loc died of an unreported medical condition on June 13, 2003. He was about 30 years old.
B Brazy of Damu Ridaz died in 2003 of unknown cause. He was about 25.
San Francisco rapper Double D (Darrel Anderson) was killed in August 2003. He was about 30.
Rapper Lil Bo was killed in 2003 at about age 25.
In November 2003, Anthony “Wolf” Jones,” 38-year-old former bodyguard for “P. Diddy” Combs, was shot to death in a gunfight outside an Atlanta nightclub. $7,000 was found on Jones’ body. Jones and Combs had been acquitted of gun possession and bribery charges stemming from a 1999 shooting inside a New York nightclub.
In December 2003, federal prosecutor Jonathan Luna was gunned down during the trial of rapper Deon Lionnel Smith, who was accused of running a violent drug ring.
Rapper Freako of Ghetto Stars was shot to death in February 2004 at about age 25.
Rapper Juston Potts (aka Kanyva) murdered his promoter on June 7, 2004, because “she told him he didn’t have the talent to sell records” (“Aspiring rapper arrested in killing,” San Francisco Chronicle, June 8, 2004).
Rapper Holy Quran was shot and killed in 2004. He was about 25.
Russell Tyrone Jones (aka Ol’ Dirty Bastard), of Wu-Tang Clan, died in November 2004 of a drug overdose at age 36.
Rapper Andre Hicks (aka Mac Dre or Dr. Dre) was shot to death in 2004 at age 34. A news report said, “His death was as violent as the lyrics to some of his most popular songs.” Police say that Hicks was part of a gang that robbed banks and pizza parlors, and in 1992 he was sentenced to 5 years in prison. His rapper nickname, Mac, describes a man that women would pay to have sex with.
Rapper Anthony Watkins (aka Fat Tone) of Kansas City was shot to death in 2005 at age 24. He was murdered by rapper Mac Minister because he was suspected to have murdered Andrew Hicks (Mac Dre) the previous year.
Deshaun Holton (aka Proof), of D12, was shot to death at a bar in Detroit in April 2006 at age 32. He was the best man at rapper Eminem’s wedding to his former wife Kim four months earlier. Proof first shot 35-year-old Keith Bender in the head and then was shot by an unknown third party.
Rapper Big Hawk (John Edward Hawkins) of Houston, Texas, of DJ Screw’s Screwed up Click, was shot to death in May 2006 at age 36. His brother, Patrick Hawkins (aka Fat Pat), was shot to death in 1998 when he was in his 20s.
In January 2007 rapper Busta Rhymes (Trevor Smith) was arrested and charged with punching and kicking a man. He was also charged with assault in August 2006. In February 2006 his bodyguard Israel Ramirez was shot to death.
Stack Bundles (Rayquon Elliot), “an up-and-coming New York rapper” affiliated with Byrd Gang Records, was shot to death in June 2007 at 5 a.m. in the morning outside his home after partying all night with friends. He was 24.
Rapper Skee 64 (Toby Rios) died in March 2007 at about age 28.
Rapper Woodie of San Francisco died in March 2007 of unknown cause at about age 35.
Many other California rappers are affiliated with infamous Bloods gangs. These include DJ Quik, Suge Knight, The Game, the rappers of the Boo-Yaa Tribe, Mack 10, B-Real, and DJ Zombie (http://www.ufaqs.com/wiki/en/bl/Bloods.htm).
Two members of the rap group Damu Ridaz, with ties to the Bloods, were shot and killed in 2007 while in their 20s. B-Brazy and G Spider were both shot and killed at different times by Mexican gangs. Lil Hawk of Damu Ridaz is in prison serving a life sentence.
Big Moe (Kenneth Moore) of Houston died in October 2007 at age 33, probably of a heart attack. He was a part of the Screwed Up Click rapper group. In 2000 he reportedly overdosed on codeine-laced cough syrup, and he often rapped about drug usage.
Influential rapper Pimp C of Underground Kingz was found dead in a motel room in December 2007 at age 33 of unreported cause. His songs dealt with “descriptions of sex and conspicuous consumption and triple-beam scales used to weigh drugs.” He spent three years in jail on gun charges.
Other rappers that died violently and/or young in the last 20 years include Karizma of San Jose, California, California, Plan B of Oakland, Black Cee of San Francisco, Black C, DJ Co V C of Funxsouljaz, 4-1-So-Sicc-Ass-Rell of Cold World Hustlers, Lil' Bo, Billboard of Black Wall Street, and Woodie (2007).
http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/rapper-deathstyle.html
A study published in the May 2003 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that students who listen to violent music are more likely to act violently. “Across five studies, we found that violent lyrics do increase violent thinking and aggressive feelings,” said lead researcher Craig Anderson of Iowa State University.
In 2007 the police in Colorado Springs issued a warning that gangsta rap is contributing to the rise in violence and murders in their area.
In a pathetic attempt to defend rap against the police charge, one rapper said: “When two cowboys got into an argument at a saloon, went outside and had a draw, nobody blamed the music that was playing at the saloon” (“Colorado police link rise in violence to music,” Goupstate.com, Sept. 3, 2007). But cowboy saloon songs didn’t wind people up into a violent rage against society and urge them to murder and rape and shoot police officers and treat women like dogs.
Rap or Hip Hop is violent music, and it is not surprising that it is accompanied by violence.
The following are some of the cases in which rappers themselves have died untimely deaths because of the violence, drug abuse, and immorality that is glorified in rap music.
We wouldn’t even try to document the untimely deaths of common rap lovers, because they are off of the news radar screens, but the number would doubtless run into the thousands if not the tens of thousands.
Rapper Scot Sterling (aka Scot La Rock), whose debut album was titled “Criminal Minded,” died in August 1987 at age 25 of a gunshot wound.
King Tubby, who invented the dubbing process that was popularized by rappers, was murdered in 1989 when he was 58 years old.
Rapper Michael Menson, of the group Double Trouble died in 1989 at age 29 when a gang soaked him in gasoline and set him afire. Double Trouble had a hit that same year titled “Street Tuff.”
MC Rock, rapper with The Almighty RSO, was stabbed to death in 1990 at roughly age 28.
Trouble T-Roy (Troy Dixon), rapper with Heavy D and the Boyz, fell off a balcony after a concert in 1990 at age 22.
Brandon Mitchell, rapper with Wreckx-N-Effect, was shot to death in 1990 at about age 20 during an argument over a woman.
Rapper Michael Robinson (a.k.a. The Mac) was shot dead in Vallejo, California, in about 1990 while sitting in his car with his pregnant girlfriend. He was about 20 years old.
Charizma, rapper with Peanut Butter Wolf, was shot to death in 1993 at age 20.
Deah Dame, rapper with Damian Dame, died in a car crash in 1994 at age 35.
Eazy-E (Eric Wright) of N.W.A., one of the founders of Gangsta rap, died of AIDS in 1995 at age 31. His lyrics focused on themes such as guns, drugs, anti-law enforcement, and deviant sex. He had seven children by six different women.
Mr. Cee, rapper with R.B.L. Posse (Ruthless By Law), died after being shot nine times on New Year’s morning of 1996 at about age 30.
Rapper Hitman (Ricky Herd), was shot to death in 1995 at age 24.
Randy Walker (aka Stretch), of Live Squad, died of unknown cause in 1995 at age 27.
Tupac Shakur (aka 2Pac, Makaveli), a gangsta rap superstar who founded the Outlawz Immortalz after he was released from prison in 1995, was shot to death a year later at age 25. Time Warner Music helped pay Shakur’s $1.4 million bail. Outlaw is an acronym for Operating Under Thug Laws as Warriors. The members of the group took the names of various tyrants, brutal dictators, and enemies of America such as Fidel Castro, Idi Amin, and Saddam Hussein.
Yafeu Fula (aka Yaki Kadafi, Young Hollywood), of the Outlawz Immortalz, was shot to death in 1996 two months after the group’s founder Tupac Shakur. He was shot by a cousin of Napoleon, another member of Outlawz.
Rapper Seagram Miller was shot to death in Oakland, California, in August 1996 at age 26.
Rappin’ Ron of Oakland, California, who recorded with Cell Block Records, died of a car crash in January 1997.
Rapper Young Lay of Vallejo, California, barely survived a gunshot wound to the head in 1997, but his baby was kidnapped and his live-in girlfriend died in an arson house fire.
Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie Smalls) (real name Christopher Wallace), gangsta rapper, was shot to death in 1997 at age 24. This was only three years after the release of his successful album “Ready to Die.” This album was filled with cursing, violence, and immorality. One cut was titled “Suicidal Thoughts,” and Notorious B.I.G. sang, “When I die, -----, I wanna go to hell.”
San Francisco Rapper JoJo White of Bored Stiff was shot to death in 1997.
Rapper DJ Caravan of FunkSoulJaz died in 1997 of unknown cause.
Gangsta Rapper Dion Stewart (aka The True Lesson Giver) of the duo Black Dynasty was shot to death while trying to rob a convenience store in 1997 at about age 30.
Fat Pat (Patrick Hawkins), rapper who recorded immoral songs, was shot to death in 1998 at age 26.
Rapper DJ Crazy Rak died in 1998 in a hotel fire in San Francisco. He was about 32 years old.
Luis “Papo” Deschamps, rapper with Sandy y Papo, died in a car crash in 1999 at age 23.
Malcolm Howard, rapper with 4 Black Faces, was shot to death execution style in 1999 at roughly age 30.
MC Big L (Lamont Coleman), rapper with Diggin’ In the Crates Crew, was shot to death outside his home in 1999 at age 23.
Rapper MC Ant was shot to death in 1999 at roughly age 35.
Karnail Pitts (aka Bugz), of D12, died after he was shot three times and run over with a car in an altercation in 1999. He was about 30 years old.
Freaky Tah (Raymond Rogers), member of Lost Boyz, was shot to death while leaving a nightclub in New York City at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning in March 1999 at age 27.
Matthew Roberts of Blaggers I.T.A. died in February 2000 at age 36 of drug related causes.
Q-Don (Raeneal Quann), rapper, was shot to death outside a Philadelphia nightclub in April 2000 at roughly age 30.
Yusef Afloat Muhammad, rapper with The Nonce, was found dead alongside a Los Angeles freeway in May 2000 at roughly age 28.
Big Pun (aka Big Punisher) (born Christopher Rios) died in 2000 of a heart attack at age 28.
Johnny Burns (aka Mausburg) was robbed and shot to death in his hometown of Compton, California, in 2000 at age 21.
Bruce Mayfield (aka Chip Banks and Bankie), rapper with The American Cream Team, was shot to death over a money dispute in November 2000 at age 30.
DJ Screw (Robert Davis, Jr.), inventor of a hypnotic, slowed-down, drug-influenced style of rap music, died in November 2000 of a drug-induced heart attack at age 30. He had long abused drugs and alcohol.
Erik Carson (aka Eclipse) was shot to death at 1:30 a.m. on November 14, 2000, in Oakland, California, at age 23.
Bruce Washington (aka Hussein Fatal), of the Outlawz, was imprisoned in 2000 for slashing a person’s face and stomach and another person’s arm and chest with a box cutter.
Lloyd “Mooseman” Roberts, rapper who worked with Iggy Pop, Ice-T, and Body Count, died in a drive by shooting in February 2001 at roughly age 28.
Prince Ital Joe, reggae and rapper who worked with Tupac and Snoop Dogg, died in a car crash in May 2001 at age 37 or 38.
Tonnie Sheppard, rapper and cousin of rapper Haf-A-Mil, was stabbed to death in a recording studio during a fight with studio executives in May 2001 at age 38 or 39.
Coughnut, rapper with Ill Mannered Posse, died in a car crash in September 2001 at age 33. The California Highway Patrol report said that alcohol was probably a factor in the crash that killed two other people, including rapper D Mac.
Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, singer with rap group TLC, died in a car crash in April 2002 at age 30. A few days before her own death, Lisa had hit and killed a 10-year-old boy with her car in Honduras.
Jam Master Jay, rapper with the popular group Run-DMC, was shot to death in his recording studio in October 2002 at age 37 by an unknown assailant. This is the latest in a long string of violence associated with rappers, who produce a style of music that is infamously violent in nature (though Jam Master Jay himself was more positive than most).
Rapper Speedy Loc died of an unreported medical condition on June 13, 2003. He was about 30 years old.
B Brazy of Damu Ridaz died in 2003 of unknown cause. He was about 25.
San Francisco rapper Double D (Darrel Anderson) was killed in August 2003. He was about 30.
Rapper Lil Bo was killed in 2003 at about age 25.
In November 2003, Anthony “Wolf” Jones,” 38-year-old former bodyguard for “P. Diddy” Combs, was shot to death in a gunfight outside an Atlanta nightclub. $7,000 was found on Jones’ body. Jones and Combs had been acquitted of gun possession and bribery charges stemming from a 1999 shooting inside a New York nightclub.
In December 2003, federal prosecutor Jonathan Luna was gunned down during the trial of rapper Deon Lionnel Smith, who was accused of running a violent drug ring.
Rapper Freako of Ghetto Stars was shot to death in February 2004 at about age 25.
Rapper Juston Potts (aka Kanyva) murdered his promoter on June 7, 2004, because “she told him he didn’t have the talent to sell records” (“Aspiring rapper arrested in killing,” San Francisco Chronicle, June 8, 2004).
Rapper Holy Quran was shot and killed in 2004. He was about 25.
Russell Tyrone Jones (aka Ol’ Dirty Bastard), of Wu-Tang Clan, died in November 2004 of a drug overdose at age 36.
Rapper Andre Hicks (aka Mac Dre or Dr. Dre) was shot to death in 2004 at age 34. A news report said, “His death was as violent as the lyrics to some of his most popular songs.” Police say that Hicks was part of a gang that robbed banks and pizza parlors, and in 1992 he was sentenced to 5 years in prison. His rapper nickname, Mac, describes a man that women would pay to have sex with.
Rapper Anthony Watkins (aka Fat Tone) of Kansas City was shot to death in 2005 at age 24. He was murdered by rapper Mac Minister because he was suspected to have murdered Andrew Hicks (Mac Dre) the previous year.
Deshaun Holton (aka Proof), of D12, was shot to death at a bar in Detroit in April 2006 at age 32. He was the best man at rapper Eminem’s wedding to his former wife Kim four months earlier. Proof first shot 35-year-old Keith Bender in the head and then was shot by an unknown third party.
Rapper Big Hawk (John Edward Hawkins) of Houston, Texas, of DJ Screw’s Screwed up Click, was shot to death in May 2006 at age 36. His brother, Patrick Hawkins (aka Fat Pat), was shot to death in 1998 when he was in his 20s.
In January 2007 rapper Busta Rhymes (Trevor Smith) was arrested and charged with punching and kicking a man. He was also charged with assault in August 2006. In February 2006 his bodyguard Israel Ramirez was shot to death.
Stack Bundles (Rayquon Elliot), “an up-and-coming New York rapper” affiliated with Byrd Gang Records, was shot to death in June 2007 at 5 a.m. in the morning outside his home after partying all night with friends. He was 24.
Rapper Skee 64 (Toby Rios) died in March 2007 at about age 28.
Rapper Woodie of San Francisco died in March 2007 of unknown cause at about age 35.
Many other California rappers are affiliated with infamous Bloods gangs. These include DJ Quik, Suge Knight, The Game, the rappers of the Boo-Yaa Tribe, Mack 10, B-Real, and DJ Zombie (http://www.ufaqs.com/wiki/en/bl/Bloods.htm).
Two members of the rap group Damu Ridaz, with ties to the Bloods, were shot and killed in 2007 while in their 20s. B-Brazy and G Spider were both shot and killed at different times by Mexican gangs. Lil Hawk of Damu Ridaz is in prison serving a life sentence.
Big Moe (Kenneth Moore) of Houston died in October 2007 at age 33, probably of a heart attack. He was a part of the Screwed Up Click rapper group. In 2000 he reportedly overdosed on codeine-laced cough syrup, and he often rapped about drug usage.
Influential rapper Pimp C of Underground Kingz was found dead in a motel room in December 2007 at age 33 of unreported cause. His songs dealt with “descriptions of sex and conspicuous consumption and triple-beam scales used to weigh drugs.” He spent three years in jail on gun charges.
Other rappers that died violently and/or young in the last 20 years include Karizma of San Jose, California, California, Plan B of Oakland, Black Cee of San Francisco, Black C, DJ Co V C of Funxsouljaz, 4-1-So-Sicc-Ass-Rell of Cold World Hustlers, Lil' Bo, Billboard of Black Wall Street, and Woodie (2007).
http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/rapper-deathstyle.html
