RIP
Iconic Hip-Hop Photographer Chi Modu Dead At 54
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty Legendary Hip-Hop photographer Chi Modu has passed away. He was just 54. Source: Jerritt Clark / Getty On Saturday, May 22, an Instagram post from Modu’s official account shared the sudden, sad news. “Our hearts are broken… We continue the fight ©💪🏾. The family request privacy at this time, ” was the caption of an image of Modu’s signature with “1966 – 2021” below it. No cause of the death has been revealed at this time. For Hip-Hop fans of a certain age, Chi Modu was a household name like any of their favorite rappers. The photographer’s work was featured all over the pages of The Source magazine during it halcyon days in the early 90’s and soon enough Modu was capturing images of the culture’s most iconic artists. So...
Shock G of Digital Underground Passes Away At 57
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Rachel Worth / WENN / WENN Shock G, lead rapper, founder and producer of seminal Hip-Hop group Digital Underground has passed away. He was 57. On Thursday (April 22), Jimi “Chopmaster J” Dright, a founding member of Digital Underground, broke the news that Shock, born Grag Jacobs, had passed. TMZ reports that his father, Edward Racker, confirmed his death. Reportedly he was found dead in a hotel room in Tampa. A Bay Area group and Hip-Hop band, Digital Underground was created in 1987 but broke through in late 1989 early 1990 with their debut album, Sex Packets, on Tommy Boy Records. The album’s lead single was “Doowutchyalike,” which featured a big nosed rapper named Humpty Hump. It would take some fans longer than others to realize that Humpt...
Black Rob Has Passed Away At 51
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Hip-Hop has lost another great artist way too soon. Black Rob of Bad Boy Records and “Whoa” fame has passed away. Born Robert Ross, Black Rob aka Banco Popular aka Bacardi Rob was just 51. Late Saturday (April 17), Rob’s friend, former labelmate and rapper Mark Curry confirmed his passing on social media. Recently; fans, friends and peers were concerned after footage of a hospitalized Black Rob, while DMX was also in the ICU, started making the rounds. Another clip showed Rob out of the hospital, however he also relayed that he was homeless and suffering an assortment of health problems. He was reportedly hospitalized in Atlanta at the time of his death. In 2016, Black Rob was part of Diddy’s Puff Daddy and The Family Bad Boy Reunio...
Actor and Poet Craig muMs Grant Has Passed Away
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Roy Rochlin / Getty Sad news in the Hip-Hop creative world today (March 25). Renowned actor and poet Craig muMs Grant has passed away. I am just speechless right now. Any of us who came up in New York poetry/spoken word scene of 1990s or 2000s know name Craig “Mums” Grant. Got word this morning he passed while making a film or tv project in ATL. Mums was mad gifted with words, and acting, and more. HUGE LOSS. pic.twitter.com/UXDRAxFi9y — Kevin Powell (@kevin_powell) March 25, 2021 A number of the talented New York City native’s contemporaries, including The Real World star, writer and activist, Kevin Powell took to social media to confirm muMs’ death. muMs aka muMs the Schemer is probably most known for his portrayal of Arnold “Poet” Jackson in the acclai...
R.I.P. Corey Steger, Founding Underoath Guitarist Dies in Car Accident
Guitarist Corey Steger, one of the original members of Florida metalcore act Underoath, has died in a car accident. The tragic news was reported by Dallas Taylor, another founding member of band. Steger joined singer Taylor, guitarist Luke Morton, bassist Rey Anasco, and drummer Aaron Gillespie in Underoath’s original lineup in 1998, remaining with the band through 2001. He appeared on their first two albums, 1999’s Act of Depression and 2000’s Cries of the Past. Taylor, who parted ways with Underoath in 2003, shared the devastating news of Steger’s death on Instagram, writing the following: “I don’t know how to type this. I’m without words. Yesterday 3/17/2021 at around 6:00 p.m. Corey Steger one of the original founding members of Underoath was rear ended in a car wreck, and went home to...
Houston Rapper Chucky Trill Killed In Atlanta
Source: @boneafied / Instagram On Friday (March 5), Houston rapper Chucky Trill was killed in Atlanta while travelling on a highway. Born Corey Detiege, he was just 33 years old. According to multiple reports, Chucky Trill, who was in town to celebrate NBA All-Star Weekend, was travelling on I-85 in Atlanta when another vehicle pulled up alongside his and opened fire on Friday morning around 3 a.m. Reports The Mirror: He was due to play a virtual event in Atlanta and had come up from Sugar Land in Texas for the NBA All-Star game on Sunday, his manager Bone of Boneafied Entertainment said. The promising up-and-comer had planned to network and make connections on his fateful trip. Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Collin Flynn told media that the shooter fled immediately after opening fire and the...
Children of Bodom Founder Alexi Laiho’s Cause of Death Revealed
Roughly two months after the tragic passing of former Children of Bodom frontman Alexi Laiho at the age of 41, his cause of death has been revealed. According to Kimberly Goss, his ex-partner to whom he was still legally married, the singer-guitarist died from “alcohol-induced degeneration of the liver and pancreas connective tissue,” along with a “cocktail of painkillers, opioids and insomnia medication in his system.” Laiho’s death was first reported on January 4th, but he actually died on December 29th, 2020. He fronted the Finnish melodic death metal act Children of Bodom for more than 25 years (including their early days as Inearthed) until they split up in 2019. The musician, who formed the new band Bodom After Midnight in early 2020, was considered one of world’s premier heavy metal...
Ex-NFL Player Vincent Jackson Found Dead In Hotel Room
Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty A week after the Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs celebrated their first Super Bowl win in more than a decade, some sad news came from the Sunshine State as former Bucs wide receiver, Vincent Jackson passed away at the young age of 38-years-old. According to WFLA the former three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver was discovered lifeless in his hotel room this past Monday (February 15) by the housekeeper when she entered his room at 11:30am. Jackson had been staying at Homewood Suites at 10240 Palm River Road in Brandon since Jan. 11 but it wasn’t until his family reported him missing on Feb. 10 that police began to search for Jackson and found him two days later. After speaking with him and addressed his well-being, they closed the case and went about their d...
This Guy Turned His Dead Uncle’s Skeleton Into a Fully Functional Guitar: Watch
An inventive gentleman has paid the ultimate tribute to his deceased uncle, turning the late metalhead’s skeletal remains into a fully functional guitar. It may seem morbid, but there’s actually a really endearing story behind the “Skelecaster”. As MetalSucks reports, a man who goes by the moniker Prince Midnight (already we’re off to a cool start) has just finished constructing a guitar out of his uncle Filip’s bones. Definitely a bit freaky, but it has been quite some time since Filip passed. Tragically, he died more than 20 years ago as the result of a car accident. Filip’s skeleton had been donated to a local college in Greece, where it was used for educational purposes for two decades. When the school no longer needed the skeleton, it was returned to his family. With Orthodox Greeks f...
NBA Analyst Sekou Smith Dies Of COVID-19 Complications, Twitter Mourns A Legend
Source: NBA TV / Turner Sports Beloved NBA analyst Sekou Smith has reportedly died of complications from COVID-19. He was just 48. The Turner Sports family mourns the loss of our very own, Sekou Smith. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/97mu4bylfA — NBA TV (@NBATV) January 27, 2021 TMZ reports that Smith had been battling COVID-19. On Tuesday evening (Jan 26), NBA TV, which has employed Smith as an analyst for over a decade, confirmed his passing. “The NBA mourns the passing of Sekou Smith, a beloved member of the NBA family,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in a statement. “Sekou was one of the most affable and dedicated reporters in the NBA and terrific friend to so many across the league.” Proudly born and raised in Grand Rapids, Atlanta was his current home...
R.I.P. Marsha Zazula, Megaforce Records Co-Founder Who Helped Launch Metallica’s Career Dies at 68
Marsha Zazula, who co-founded Megaforce Records with her husband Jon Zazula (aka Jonny Z), has sadly passed away at the age of 68. The couple were instrumental in launching the careers of Metallica, Anthrax, and other metal bands. Marsha’s passing was confirmed by her daughter Rikki Zazula, who wrote, “RIP Mom April 21, 1952 – January 10, 2021. Your love, Your strength, Your memory and Your music has changed lives and will continue to FOREVER.” Along with Jonny, Marsha helped open the door for thrash metal on the East Coast. Jonny quit a Wall Street job and the pair began selling records at a flea market under the name Rock N’ Roll Heaven. Eventually, they established a New Jersey store that became an influential metal destination. Upon hearing Metallica’s No Life ‘Til Leather demo, Jonny ...
New York Times Best-Selling Author Eric Jerome Dickey Passes Away At 59
Source: Jody Cortes / Getty 2021 is starting very shaky. New York Times best-selling author Eric Jerome Dickey passed away at the age of 59. Dickey’s publicist confirmed the sad news that the writer died on Sunday, January 3, in his Los Angeles home “after battling a long illness.” Vulture reports that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no services to remember the late scribe. Dickey was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, and before he became famous for his novels, he studied engineering at the University of Memphis. Dickey’s writing career began in 1989 while still working as an engineer before heading to Los Angeles trying his hand at acting and comedy. His first book, Sister, Sister, was released in 1996 and is still held in high regard due to its impactful representat...
