The loss of an artist in the music industry is a big moment for fans and rappers alike, and unfortunately, murder is the cause of over
50% of hip-hop musician deaths. Here are the famous and lesser-
-known rappers that were killed, and the men and women who killed them. Nipsey Hussle Nipsey Hussle was spending the
afternoon of March 31, 2019, signing autographs and taking photos with fans while
outside the Hyde Park strip mall, where he owned a couple of businesses, including his famous Marathon clothing store. After just half an hour there, Eric Holder came up with a few others. After shaking hands, they had a brief conversation which apparently turned
to Hussle telling Holder that word on the street was that Holder was a snitch. No one likes being called a snitch, so Holder left in a car, only to return a bit later with a gun in each hand. He shot Nipsey over ten times and kicked him in the head before running off. He was declared dead at the hospital, and Holder has pleaded not guilty
to one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and two counts of assault with a firearm. Soulja Slim James Tapp, aka Soulja Slim, was a rapper from New Orleans in the early 2000s. Though he had some legal trouble in the mid 90s, he had stayed on the strait and narrow
since his release from prison in 2001. So it surprised everyone when he was the
subject of a shooting in November of 2003. While he was hanging out on the front lawn of a home
he’d just bought for his mother in New Orleans, he was approached by a man named Garelle Smith, who shot him three times in the face and once in the chest with a stolen
gun before fleeing the scene. According to detectives, the man was paid $10,000 to kill Soulja Slim, though no word on who ordered the hit but that it likely had to do with a rival record label. Young Greatness Another New Orleans rapper, Young Greatness is best known for his 2015 hit “Moolah” which made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 that year. After Hurricane Katrina, he relocated to Houston, but on the last weekend of October 2018, he found himself in New Orleans again to attend the funeral of his grandmother. During the night of the 29th, he was approached by three men, Donald Reaux, Donny Maxwell, and an unnamed minor, who attempted to steal his car. He was shot dead in the parking lot
of a Waffle House and his car was promptly stolen by the killers. They were later arrested and
charged with second-degree murder, armed robber, and obstruction of justice. Veeno Gunna St. Louis rapper Veeno Gunna wasn’t killed because of gang activity or feuds with other rappers. Instead, this man died a hero. In January 2019, the rapper was called up by his niece who said that she and another teenage girl were being harassed by a man
outside of a convenience store. Gunna showed up to help out and the confrontation got physical. The rapper through a punch against the man, Chris Rainey, who pulled out a gun and shot into the air. Gunna backed away when he saw the gun, but the man shot him in the chest. He ran away, collapsing nearby and was pronounced dead at the hospital. EBE Bandz The body of 23-year-old William Pickering, aka EBE Bandz, was found in May of 2019, three weeks after he was reported missing. The Rockford, Illinois rapper had apparently
been beaten to death with a baseball bat before his body was set on fire
and dumped in a wooded area. Luckily, investigators were able to quickly arrest
two men in connection with the murder: William Arzate and Manuel Ramirez, both 22 years old. They were charged with first-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death. A third suspect, Dakota Graff, 21, was charged in September of 2019. No one knows why they killed the young rapper. Hussein Fatal Hussein Fatal was a member
of the hip hop group Outlawz and had worked with Tupac
Shakur in the early 90s. And unlike most rappers on this list, his death wasn’t due to intentional murder, but because of a few stupid decisions. On July 10, 2015, in Banks County Georgia, he was in the car as a passenger
with his girlfriend Zanetta Yearby, who was driving under the influence. The car crashed, immediately killing Hussein, and Zanetta was charged with DUI, first-degree vehicular homicide, and reckless driving. Lil Lonnie Jackson, Mississippi rapper Lil Lonnie was often described as a fun-loving kid who loved to joke around, have fun, and help others. He was close with his family and was a great brother to his four siblings. He was a helper at home, where their father was left to take care of the kids
after their mother died when they were little. He was only 22 years old when
he was killed in April of 2018. He had been driving his SUV around the
city when he was shot at several times. The car then crashed into a house, but the rapper was already dead. The suspects, Marshun Carr, Antoine Carr, and Monya Davis, were arrested and charged with murder. Nothing is known about the motivation for the murder, so it might have been a random drive-by. Gangstalicious. This story is a little bit different from the others because the men who killed rapper Gangstalicious weren’t street criminals, but the people sworn to fight against them: that’s right they were cops. The rapper, born Zoe Dowdell, was only 20 when he was shot by five
police officers in New Britain, Connecticut. Dowdell and two teenagers were prime suspects in a string
of violent armed carjackings in the area in the weeks leading up to the shooting. They were in a car together when the police attempted to pull
them over in December 2017. Dashcam videos show the car baking up onto a sidewalk as they tried to escape, smashing into other cars. The police got out of their vehicles and
opened fire as the rapper tried to flee. There were 28 rounds fired at the car four of them hit Gangstalicious in the head, neck, and legs. He was declared dead at the hospital later that night. All five officers were cleared from any wrong-
-doing in 2019 after heavy investigations. Magnolia Shorty The 28-year-old New Orleans rapper had just begun working on her second
album with Cash Money Records in 2010 when she was brutally murdered. She had just entered her
apartment complex in her car when another car followed her in through the gate. They circled around her, blocking her in. Two men got out of the car and began shooting inside Magnolia’s vehicle. They shot 26 times, killing her and her passenger Jerome Hampton. Gregory Stewart, a known gang member and drug trafficker confessed to being one of the men involved, and two others, McCoy Walker and Terrioues Owney were found guilty in 2014. The murder was likely due to gang
rivalry with the passenger. XXXTentacion One of the best rappers in recent years, there’s no denying that the loss of XXXTentacion hit the community big time. And with surveillance video of
the murder available on the internet, pretty much everyone has seen the incident. On June 18, 2018, the rapper withdrew some money from a
bank on his way to check out some vehicles at RIVA Motorsports in Florida. As he was leaving, an SUV pulled behind him and
followed him all the way to the shop, with two men, Dedrick Williams and Robert Allen, even getting out and buying a couple of things. After Tentacion left the shop and got into his car, the SUV pulled in front of him, blocking him in. Michael Boatwright and Trayvon
Newsome got out of the vehicle and demanded the rapper give
them money and property. There was a struggle that left Tentacion
shit multiple times in the neck. The killers took a bag full of money and fled the scene. They’ve been charged with
first-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon.
