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Rapper Black Rob recently had a GoFundMe campaign started in his name, but unfortunately, the rapper has passed away. According to The New York Times, the 52-year-old rapper died at Grady Memorial Hospital this past Saturday, April 17, 2021.
Robert Ross, which was his birth name, was known for his husky “seen-it-all” voice and hits such as “Whoa” and “Can I Live.” Rob, also known as the Bad Boy rapper, was born in Buffalo, N.Y., but raised in East Harlem, where he started rapping before he hit his teens.
“Life Story,” his first album, was produced in 2000 by Bad Boy Records. This album title was a suitable fit for Black Rob since he had already exhausted a third of his life bouncing through teenage confinement facilities and incarceration by age 31.
It’s hell, Mr. Ross said concerning what he had been through. When they sink their teeth into you, they continue to bite, until they are done and decide, it is time to let this cat go.
His music and choice of lyrics were a reflection of the life he had lived. Throughout his career, he delivered four studio albums, “Life Story” was his most successful. Approximately five years after his platinum billboard chart victory, he found himself incarcerated again and, this time, never recovered.
After he was allowed to leave jail in 2010, Black Rob proclaimed, “Bad Boy left me for dead.” By 1997, his career took a nosedive as rapper Sean Combs, also known as “Diddy,” appeared on the scene.
At age 52, the 1990s rapper known as Black Rob died. There was a GoFundMe, Help Black Rob, launched by producer Mike Zombie before Rob died that is still active. The money was going to be used for shelter, medical expenses, and survival throughout these unprecedented times. Sadly, the funds will now be used to cover the cost of his funeral.
Written by Sharri Rogers
Edited Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
NBC News: Black Rob, rapper and former Bad Boy artist dies at 52; by Variety
The New York Times: Black Rob, Rapper Known for His Hit Single, ‘Whoa!,’ dies at 52; by Jesus Jimenez and Joe Coscarelli
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Manish Vohra’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License