Robert Ross, the rapper known as Black Rob, whose hoarse, widely-seen voice-driven millennium hits like “Whoa!” and “Can I Live” for Bad Boy Records, passed away Saturday at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. He was 52.
The cause was cardiac arrest, said Mark Curry, a friend and one-time Bad Boy artist, who added that Mr. Ross had numerous health problems in recent years, including diabetes, lupus, kidney failure and multiple strokes.
Mr. Ross had undergone dialysis and was discharged from Piedmont Atlanta Hospital this month, Mr. Curry said. In a video posted online and circulated around the hip-hop world, Mr. Ross explained his ailments and recent struggles with homelessness.
“He didn’t have a home, but he always had us,” said Mr. Curry, who called Mr. Ross “a true poet.” He added, “He is known for telling stories and his music describes his life. You can feel it. “
Last week, Mr. Curry, along with producer Mike Zombie, began promoting a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Mr. Ross – “to help him find a home, pay for medical assistance and stability in these troubled times”, thus the description of the campaign. said. The fundraiser raised about half of its $ 50,000 goal.
Born in Harlem, NY, Mr. Ross started rapping around the age of 11, influenced by local artists such as Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh, who he said helped develop his ability to tell stories. He also internalized the essence of his musically soaring neighborhood, citing the “peppy sound”.
“It’s like, ‘Oh, it has a little taste, I could dance to this’ – you’re going to be talking about a little bit of money, a little bit of drugs,” Mr. Ross said in a 2013 interview. the most flashy. “
Best known for the hard single ‘Whoa!’ From 2000, which reached No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100, and a string of electric guest verses on songs from Mase, 112 and Total, Mr. Ross could sound both motivated and weathered. even as a young man.
Following the murder of his Bad Boy label mate, the Notorious BIG, in March 1997, the rapper took on a more lead role and became another fast-burning star led by budding hip-hop mogul Sean Combs, better known as Diddy. , towards the end of the 1990s.
Mr. Ross’s debut album, aptly named “Life Story”, was released by Bad Boy in 2000 at the age of 31. He had spent more than a decade of his life in and out of juvenile detention, jail and prison, and the music reflected that.
“It’s hell,” said the rapper at the time of his past. “Once they get their teeth on you, they’ll keep biting until they feel like, ‘Let’s throw this cat’s key away.’ ”
“Life Story” featured intricate street stories of robberies, shootings, and the family struggles that could lead to such things, reaching number 3 on the Billboard album chart and eventually going platinum.
Five years later, “ The Black Rob Report, ” the rapper’s second album, failed to achieve the same success, in part because Mr. Ross was back in prison for not reporting on a 2004 theft charge. His career has never recovered.
“Bad Boy left me for dead,” said Mr. Ross on his release from prison in 2010. Two subsequent independent releases on different labels fell through.
Mr. Ross is survived by his mother, Cynthia; four siblings; nine children; and five grandchildren.
Many people on social media offered condolences to Mr. Ross, including Diddy, entrepreneur Daymond John, and rappers Missy Elliott, LL Cool J, GZA, and Styles P.
On Twitter, LL Cool J described Mr. Ross as a storyteller, gentleman and an MC
Mrs. Elliott complained that Mr. Ross’s death closely followed that of another New York rapper, Earl Simmons, known as DMX, who died this month.
“It’s hard to find the words to say when someone dies,” Mrs. Elliott said on Twitter“I pray for both their families to be healed.”