Nine Famous Musicians Who Were Killed By Gunmen

In this article, I’ll be discussing the sad stories of some exceptional musicians who met their death after they were shot by gunmen. From hiphop to reggae to rock pop to soul, their music cuts across several genres. 

Some of them died a very long time ago like John Lennon who was killed over 40 years ago, while some died quite recently, for instance Pop Smoke who was killed less than two years ago.

1. Lucky Dube:

Lucky Philip Dube was a South African reggae musician famous for songs like Hold On, Prisoner, Feel Irie, Victims and Remember Me. He is one of the most influential and celebrated South African musicians of all time.

He died on 18 October 2007 in Rosettenville, Johannesburg after he was reportedly shot by gunmen in a carjacking attempt.

2. John Lennon:

John Winston Ono Lennon was an English singer and songwriter who was the founder of the popular band 'The Beatles' famous for songs like Let It Be, Imagine and Here Comes The Rain.

Aged 40, he died on 8 December 1980 after he was shot four times by Mark David Chapman.

3. Tupac Shakur:

Tupac Amaru Shakur, commonly known as 2pac, was an American rapper famous for songs like Dear Mama, Thug Life and Hit Em Up. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers in history.

Aged 25, 2pac was allegedly shot dead on 7 September 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada in a drive-by shooting.

4. The Notorious B.I.G:

Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G, was an American rapper famous for songs like Juicy, Big Poppa and Hypnotize. He is widely considered one of the greatest ever rappers.

He died on 9 March 1997 at the age of 24 after he was shot by gunmen in a drive-by shooting, similar to the way 2pac was killed a year earlier.

5. Marvin Gaye:

Popular for songs like I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Let's Get It On and Ain't No Mountain High Enough, American singer Marvin Gaye was shot dead by his father on 1 April 1984, a day before his 45th birthday.

6. XXXTentacion:

Jashey Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, better known as XXXTentacion was an American rapper known for songs like Hope, Look At Me and Changes. He was shot dead in Deerfield Beach, Florida at the age of 20.

7. Pop Smoke:

Bashar Barakah Jackson, better known as Pop Smoke, was an American rapper famous for songs like Invincible and For The Night. He died from a gunshot wound on 19 February 2020. He was aged 20.

8. Nipsey Hussle:

Airmiess Joseph Asghedom, commonly known as Nipsey Hussle was an American rapper known for songs like Double Up and Grinding All My Life. He died on 31 March 2019 in Los Angeles as a result of gunshot wounds.

9. Peter Tosh:

Peter Tosh was a Jamaican reggae artiste and one of the original members of the reggae band known as 'The Wailers,' alongside Bob Marley and Bunny wailer.

Aged 42, he died on 11 September 1987 after he was reportedly shot twice in the head.a