Editorial: 10 Rappers Who Died Before They Were Famous (#10)

O ver the next course of the month, we'll be counting down on our 10 Rappers Who Died Before They Were Famous editorial. When compiling this dreadful list, the realization came early that some artist who deserve honorable mentions would have to go unheard due the massive amount of talent murdered over the years. Each having short-lived careers, we hoped this serve as a continuation to their everlasting legacy. Hit the jump to see who set off our first editorial.

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#10: Young Pappy (5/10/95 – 5/29/15)

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D epending on what era of hip-hop you grew up in, Chi-town rappers have been known for their distinguished hypersonic lyrics and dynamic amounts of dark, vigorous energy unseen from any other region. Rappers such as Crucial Conflict, Twista, Do or Die and SpeedKnot Mobsters dominated the 90s, by branding the high-powered sound expressed as "chopper music". Rapid fire lyricism comparable to a fully automatic firearm, e.g. an AK47, Uzi, M16A2 and/or MAC10. 

Over time Chicago, has been through some modifications. What was once known as Chi-town is now "Chi-Raq", a nickname that is paralleled the cities extreme violence to the war in Iraq. With a new moniker, a new breed of hip-hop has also emerged. Drill music, a representation of the city's underworld savage lifestyle, has been heavily popularized since its debut in 2010. Unlike Chicago's earlier successors, Drill music is known for its slow, repetitive delivery – similar to trap music. 

Just recent, there may have been another change in the Chicago sound. Young Pappy, born Shaquon Thomas, embodied both, commanding lyricism and savage lifestyle with repetitive delivery making his listeners mindful to his sincerity to the streets. Unfortunately, due to that sincerity, Pappy was shot twice in the back, while standing on the 4800 block of North Kenmore Avenue. After taken to the hospital, Shaquon Thomas was later pronounced dead on May 29, 2015; three after celebrating his 20th birthday.

With only two mixtapes under his belt, 2 Cups Pt.1 and 2 Cups Pt.2, Young Pappy was slowly gaining the title for that dude who couldn't be touched, physically or lyrically. In 2014, Pappy had dodged his fate, not one but twice, leaving innocent bystanders dead in both incidents. Creatively taking vengeance on his oppositions (Chi-raq slang for enemies), Pappy released "Shooters", a song and music video dissing his shooter's marksmanship which would ironically be the up and coming rapper's last visual (see video below).

D espite being associated with the south side sound, the north side rapper's unprecedented style of timely wordplay set him apart, thus, making it unique. Some will argue that Pappy was not a drill rapper, but a voluble spokesperson for his gang, PBG (Pooh Bear Gangstas). Listen as Pappy disses his opps over Chief Keef's self-produced "Faneto".

Young Pappy was known for his immeasurable amounts of blasphemous and no holds barred lyricism. In songs such as, "Freedom" and the hard-hitting "Homicide" produced by Pappy's younger brother TayDaProducer, Pappy shows us that he is the embodiment of chopper music, hip hop, gangster rap and drill. Rather any genre, Young Pappy's music was a mere reflection of the savage lifestyle he lead.



Due to his untimely murder, the Chiraq artist was unable to deliver his long awaited 3 Cups to his fans. Rest in Power KING.

For information on Young Pappy:

Young Pappy Twitter (yes, it is still active)
TFG Ent Youtube
Athreeo NineVision

#LongLiveYoungPappy