Rappers are certainly not exempt to the reality that “tomorrow isn’t promised, “and unfortunately some lost their lives young, specifically before making it to 25. The age itself has beenĀ both a triumphant and tragic milestone in rap.
From one perspective, rappers like DrakeĀ and others became millionaires Ā before they even hit the quarter-century mark or are well on their way to doing so, like Jay Z.Ā Ā By the time Hov was 25, he was on the road to co-founding Roc-A-Fella Records, and Ā of course when Drizzy made 25 he was already “sittin’ on “$25 mil.”
On the flip side, 25 is also an age that some rappers never made it past. Over the weekend Cali Swag District member Cahron “JayAre” Childs lost his battle with sick cell anemia, one month before his was 26th birthday.
If there’s one thing to take away from JayAre’s death it to live life to the fullest, but it also serves as a reminder that more tragic than mourning the loss of a life is one that ended young. Unfortunately, JayAre is not alone on this list of those gone too soon.
Hit the gallery for a list of rapper that never reached a quarter-century.
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Big L
Harlem’s own Lamont “Big L” Coleman was gunned down in February 1999 at the age of 24. He was shot nine times in the face and chest, by an unknown suspect, in what was believed to be a retaliation murder.
L’s sophomore effort, The Big Picture, was released a year after his death andĀ was certified gold by the RIAA.
MC Trouble
MC Trouble was known for being the first female rapper to sign to Motown Records. Her 1990 single “I Wanna Make You Mine” peaked at No. 15 on Billboard Magazine’s Hot Rap Songs charts. The next year Trouble had started work on her second album but tragically she died in her sleep from an epileptic seizure.
Tribe Called Quest paid tribute the L.A. native with “Vibe and Stuff” from their album, The Low End Theory.
Dolla
22-year-old rapper Dolla was fatally shot in the head outside of the Los Angeles Beverly Center in 2009. Leading up to his death, the Georgia native was signed to Akon’s Konvict imprint, was working on making a name for himself and leaving street life behind. He said in a radio interview that music gave him an opportunity to “do something positive” and not have to “worry about getting shot.”
Aubrey Louis Berr, the man who killed Dolla, claimed self defense and was acquitted of murder.
Trouble T-Roy
Trouble T-Roy was a rapper, dancer, and member of Heavy D and the Boyz. T-Roy, 22, died on tour in July 1990, after he fell off a raised exit ramp outside of a venue in Indianapolis.
Heavy D and the Boyz dedicated their 1991 album, Peaceful Journey, to T-Roy.
Brandon Mitchell
Brandon Mitchell, of the 90s rap group, Wrecks-N-Effect (later changed to Wreckx-N-Effect) was killed in 1990 at the age of 20. Not long after the Wrecks-N-Effect released their No. #1 single “New Jack Swing,” Mitchell was shot to death by another man, during an argument about a woman.
Yaki Kadafi
19-year-old Outlawz member Yaki Kadafi (born Yafeu Akiyele Fula) was found dead two months after the passing of friend and collaborator, Tupac Shakur. Kadafi was shot in the head over a money dispute.
Fat Tone
Anthony “Fat Tone” Watkins, 24, was an up-and-coming rapper out of Kansas City, killed out of retaliation for the 2004 shooting death of Bay Area rapper Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks (it has never been proven that Watkins was involved in the death, and was cleared as a suspect by police). Watkins was lured to what he was told was going to be a meeting about working with Snoop Dogg only to be gunned down by another rapper, Ā Andre “Mac Minister” Dow. His friend,Ā Jermaine Cowboy” Akins was also killed.
Dow, who was friends with Hicks, was sentence to two life sentences.
Stack Bundles
Dipset-affiliated rapper Stack Bundles (birth name, Rayquon Elliott) was killed in June 2007, at the age of 24. Bundles was shot in the head and neck as he entered his Queens apartment building in what was said to be a robbery attempt.
A week later authorities found the dead body of 20-year-old aspiring rapper Charles White,Ā one of the men believed to be involved in Bundle’s murder. White was killed execution style and discovered inside a vacant house.
Doe B
Glen “Doe B” Thomas only lived to see the age of 22. The Alabama-born rapper on the rise, and member of T.I.’s Hustle Gang, was shot to death at a bar last December by 25-year-old Jason McWilliams. Police believe the murder was a result of an ongoing dispute between the two.
M-Bone
Cali Swag District member JayAre’s death was the second tragedy the group endured over the last few years. Back in 2011, Monte “M-Bone” Talbert was killed Ā during a drive-by shooting in Inglewood. The 22-year-old was shot twice in the head.
Bugz
Karnail Pitts, aka Bugz from D12, was killed age age 21 in 1999. Bugz was shot after a verbalĀ disputeĀ that started over a water gun. The Detroit rapper was senselessly murdered for intervening in a verbal argument that escalated to a fist fight, before he was gunned down.
Bugz was shot three times at close range.
Slim Dunkin
Slim Dunkin, formally know as Mario Hamilton was shot to death in 2011, in what started out as an argument over a piece of candy.Ā Dunkin grabbed at a sugary treat while he was in an Atlanta studio,Ā angering another man and after an exchange of words and a fist fight, he was shot once in the chest.
Dunkin was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The shooter, Vinson Hardimon, was acquitted of murder and felony murder,Ā but busted on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a handgun during the commission of a felony. Hardimon was given 25 years, the maximum sentence allowed for the charges.
Lil Snupe
The youngest person on our list is Meek Mill protƩgƩ , Lil Snupe. Born Adarran Ross, the Louisiana rapper was killed last June, in a dispute over a video game.
About a week later, 36-year-old Tony Holden turned himself in for the murder. Ā In July 2013, police arrested and charged a second suspect, 21-year-old Edrick O. Stewart with manslaughter.
