Real Name: Tupac Amaru Shakur

Cause of Death: Murder

Real Name: Christopher Wallace

Cause of Death: Murder

Real Name: William C. Lusk, Jr.

Cause of Death: Murder

Real Name: Russell Jones

Cause of Death: Drug Overdose

Real Name: Michael Menson

Cause of Death: Murder

Real Name: LaToshia Rogers

Cause of Death: Epileptic Seizure

Cause of Death: Murder

Real Name: Andre Hicks

Cause of Death: Murder

Andre Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), better known by his stage name, Mac Dre, was a Bay Area-based rapper from Vallejo, California. He is considered one of the predecessors of the hyphy music movement. During his career in the rap world, he worked with artists like Yukmouth, B-Legit, MC Hammer, Mac Mall, E-40, Andre Nickatina and Keak Da Sneak.

Mac Dre was born in Oakland, California. As a child Andre was moved to and raised in Vallejo, California by his mother to get him out of the mean streets of Oakland. His lyrics were largely based on his notorious North Vallejo neighborhood known as "The Crest". His music gained popularity in the early to mid 1990s throughout the Bay Area, eventually receiving national recognition through his independent record labels Romp and Thizz Entertainment. During his music career, he released many hit singles, such as "Too Hard for the Fuckin' Radio", and most recently "Feelin' Myself". His music continues to be released posthumously. He was the creator of the "Thizzle Dance", a popular dance which holds no specific standard. Hardship and controversy were staples of Mac Dre's career. After recording his first three albums between 1989 and 1991, Mac Dre was charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery. His record label, Romp Productions, and his many references to "Romper Room" in his songs, coincided with a Vallejo robbery gang of the time calling themselves the "Romper Room Gang" and responsible for the robberies of many area banks and pizza parlours. Hicks was alleged to be a member of the gang. The rapper was sentenced to five years in prison in 1992.

In prison, Hicks gained some notoriety by recording the lyrics to songs directly over the Fresno County jail inmate telephone. His album, Young Black Brotha, was a result of such efforts, as well as guest appearances on fellow artists' songs, all while Hicks was still imprisoned. A later album, Back 'N Da Hood, was also made up of these prison-recorded songs.

After his release from prison in 1996, Mac Dre began releasing albums steadily, building pace in the early 21st century. Mac Dre's audience was growing, and mainstream hip-hop stations were beginning to give Hicks' music more airtime. Hicks relocated to Sacramento, California in 2001, where he began a label, Thizz Entertainment. A notorious ecstasy enthusiast, he is credited with coining the slang verb to thizz, which refers to the state of being high on the drug. He is the foremost precursor of the current Hyphy movement, a hip hop subculture based around ecstasy use, club drugs, and "feel good" music in general.

A common theme in Mac Dre songs is his reputation as a "mac" or a man that women would actually pay to have sex with them. Songs like "How I Got This Name", "Stupid Doo Doo Dumb" and "Feelin' Myself" all make references to this aspect of his life. Some lyrics referring to this are "Every b**** I d***ed down, had to kick down" and "So I flipped the script and stopped f***in' for free"

On November 1, 2004, Mac Dre was shot to death while returning to his hotel after a performance in Kansas City, Missouri. A car pulled up next to the white van carrying Dre. Though it is not known whether words were exchanged, the ordeal ended in bloodshed. The van swerved off the road and into a ravine where it ran into a tree. Mac Dre apparently died from a gunshot wound to the back of the neck, although Dre was thrown from the vehicle and wasn't found immediately after the accident. In 2005 due to a large amount of suspicion, Kansas City rapper Anthony "Fat Tone" Watkins was murdered in Las Vegas, allegedly by Bay Area rapper Mac Minister, in retaliation for Hicks' death. In March 2006, Mac Minister was arrested by FBI officials.

On the weekend of the August 26, 2006, Hicks' tombstone was stolen from his final resting place at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California. AP.9, a rapper who was close to Hicks offered a $10,000 reward out of his own pocket for anyone who had any information on the location of the tombstone. AP.9 stated that he believed the theft was an isolated incident, and nobody involved with Hicks' murder was responsible. The tombstone has since been replaced.

Real Name: Jason Mizell

Cause of Death: Murder

Jason William Mizell (January 21, 1965–October 30, 2002), also known as Jam-Master Jay (or Jam Master Jay) and Jay Gambulos, was a founder and the DJ of Run-D.M.C., a hip-hop group based in the Queens borough of New York City.

Mizell was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to Queens at the age of 10 with his family. He played bass and drums in several garage bands prior to joining Run-D.M.C.; on all of their albums from Raising Hell on, he played keyboards, bass, and live drums in addition to his turntable work. Mizell remained in his childhood neighborhood his entire life. He founded the Scratch DJ Academy in Manhattan for children interested in DJing.

In 1989, Mizell established the label Jam Master Jay Records, which scored a strong success in 1993 with the band Onyx. He also connected Chuck D with Def Jam co-founder Rick Rubin. (Def Jam's other founder, Russell Simmons, is the brother of DJ Run.)

In the 1990s, Mizell suffered the effects of a bad car accident and a gunshot wound, which he survived. On October 30, 2002, however, he was shot and killed in a Merrick Boulevard recording studio in Queens, New York. The other person in the room, twenty-three-year-old Urieco Rincon, was shot in the ankle.

The New York Daily News reported that authorities have investigated whether Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a convicted drug dealer and longtime friend of Murder Inc. heads Irv Gotti and Chris Gotti, targeted Mizell because the DJ defied an industry blacklist of rapper 50 Cent that was imposed because of "Ghetto Qur'an", a song 50 Cent wrote about McGriff's drug history. A 2003 affidavit says: "Law enforcement agents are investigating the possibility that [Jason] Mizell [a.k.a. Jam-Master Jay] was murdered for defying the blacklist of 50 Cent."

Federal prosecutors recently named Ronald "Tenad" Washington as an accomplice in the murder of Mizell. Mizell is survived by his wife Terri and three children. He is buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

Real Name: James Yancey

Cause of Death: Lupus

Real Name: Jasun Ward

Cause of Death: Murder

Half-A-Mill was a Brooklyn-based rapper who was shot dead in his home in the Albany Projects in Brooklyn, New York October 24, 2003. He was an underground rapper in the middle 1990s and nearly broke into the mainstream in the late 90s. His initial breakthrough came in 1997 with an appearance on the only album by The Firm, a highly touted supergroup featuring Nas, AZ, Nature, and Foxy Brown alongside producers Dr. Dre and the Trackmasters. He was also on the God's Son album. Following this appearance, Half-A-Mill then contributed "Some Niggaz" to the Def Jam-released Belly soundtrack in 1998, followed by his single "Thug Ones." The track, which featured Capone-N-Noreaga, Kool G Rap, and Musaliny, was a hit in the New York hardcore rap scene in 1999 and became the leadoff single for Half-A-Mill's debut album, Milion. The album, released in 2000, didn't do as well as many had expected, selling only about 40,000 units and the Brooklyn rapper lost much of his momentum. He returned two years later in 2002 with his second effort, Da Hustle Don't Stop, which Warlock Records had preceded with the release of "Still." This single, which received some radio airplay, targeted those who claimed Half-A-Mill had lost some talent: "Still gangsta/still ghetto/still street."

Half-A-Mill was found shot to death in his apartment October 24, 2003 in Brooklyn, New York City. Full details surrounding the shooting have yet to be released. Kyle Christmas, a representative at Half-A-Mill's label Warlock Records, says, "We are sad over here at Warlock. He will definitely be missed. He was one of those outstanding, but underrated artists. He was a good dude." He was working on his third album at the time of his death.

Real Name: Raymond Rodgers

Cause of Death: Murder

Freaky Tah (born Raymond Rodgers in 1972, slain March 28, 1999) was a hip-hop artist from South Jamaica, Queens, New York. He was a member of the group Lost Boyz, along with Mr. Cheeks, Pretty Lou and DJ Spigg Nice. He appeared on all three Lost Boyz albums. Although he is mainly remembered for being a hype man, he also rhymed on several Lost Boyz tracks.

On the night of March 28, 1999, at a birthday party for Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah was shot in the head while exiting the Sheraton Hotel in Queens. Tah was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:20 am, at the age of 27. The getaway driver, Raheem Fletcher, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for manslaughter. In 2001, Kelvin Jones pleaded guilty to the murder.

His cousin is the rapper Domination, who is member of the Silverback Guerillaz. In an interview with Riotsound.com, Domination stated that "Tah inspired me, man. Tah came from the same struggle I came from, so he showed me that I could really do it. Tah always used to tell me "Yo, go in the studio, get in the studio and let's do it." I used to freestyle on the block and Tah used to have me battling grown cats. I'm 23 now, so Tah woulda been about 34, 35 right now, he died when he was 28. So he was older than me and people who was his age that were his colleagues and his peers, he had me battling them in the Chinese restaurant and whatnot."

He and the other Lost Boyz are featured on the track "Wanna Get Paid", a track from LL Cool J's Platinum-selling 1997 album Phenomenon.

Freaky Tah is mentioned by Quan in the 2003 song "Just A Moment", which was released on Nas' Street's Disciple album. Quan mentions him in a list of slain hip-hop luminaries: 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Big Pun, Jam Master Jay, Big L, Left Eye Lopes, and Aaliyah. He explains that he misses them all, and says, "When we die, we hope to see you... through us, you live on." He is also mentioned by Cormega on the song "Hood Legends", where Cormega's verse is dedicated to his friendship with Tah. In addition, he is mentioned in the song "Good Mourning" by Reflection Eternal from their 2000 album "Train of Thought", in which Talib Kweli raps: "Freaky Tah, rock rock on".