As his family explained in an Instagram post, “For over two years, Virgil valiantly battled a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma. Much to the shock of the fashion and entertainment industries, fashion designer Virgil Abloh died on November 28 after privately battling cancer. Now he got the chance to watch the tapes without me. We were supposed to be watching the tapes together.
He said, ‘Yo, we see the things, we going to be laughing.’ He would always say that - ‘Wait ’til we see the tapes.’ And nobody knew what he was talking about but me. He’d say, ‘I can’t wait till we get to heaven and see all the tapes of all the funny times, of all the things we did.’ That’s how his mind works. Al Sharpton were a few who took the podium, while Fat Joe, Ice-T, Erick Sermon, Parish Smith, Redman, Big Daddy Kane, Kid Capri and De La Soul’s Maseo were among the attendees.Īs Cutmaster Cool V told DX, “Biz always said when we would get to heaven, we would be able to see the tapes. That is until December 2020, when HipHopDX spoke to a source close to Biz who was able to confirm the 56-year-old had suffered a stroke at the hospital while recovering from a diabetic episode.īut Biz was never fully able to recover, and his friends, family and fans were forced to say goodbye at a New York City funeral service in August. Fellow Juice Crew member Roxanne Shanté, his DJ Cutmaster Cool V, Montell Jordan and Rev. At the same time, his death also partly solved the mystery of his sudden “disappearance.” News the Juice Crew legend had been hospitalized with a “serious illness” started to circulate in July 2020 but as the months dragged on, there was very little information on his condition. The Clown Prince of Hip Hop passed away on July 16 at a Maryland hospital, bringing his over 30-year career to a premature end. The one solace in DMX’s death is his demons can no longer haunt him - he’s at peace now. Like the rest of DMX’s catalog, the project was a raw glimpse into what made Earl Simmons human and how much he struggled with drug addiction and mental health. In the wake of his death, friend and producer Swizz Beatz finished X’s first posthumous album, Exodus, which arrived on May 28 via Def Jam Recordings, his longtime label. But sadly, medical staff was unable to preserve X’s life and he passed at the age of 50. As X’s family grappled with what always feels like an impossible decision, his friends and fans rallied around the hospital hoping for a miracle. Just seven days prior, the Ruff Ryders legend had suffered a cocaine-induced heart attack and was rushed to White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York where he was placed on life support. The Hip Hop world shed a collective tear on April 9 when DMX’s life came to an abrupt and tragic end. To illustrate just how dire the situation is, HipHopDX has compiled a list of not just all of the legends we’ve lost this year but also the aspiring local rappers and slightly more established artists who died a violent death - and it’s an unnecessarily long list.
to Blackalicious MC Gift of Gab and the lovable Biz Markie, the devastating losses just kept coming.īut the gun violence was unprecedented this year. From former Bad Boy rapper Black Rob and Kangol Kid of U.T.F.O. At least 20 rappers were fatally shot this year some hometown heroes, others nationally celebrated artists like Young Dolph. Meanwhile, there were many other rappers and Hip Hop figures who died of drug overdoses, poor health and cancer.