Hip Hop was dealt a devastating triple blow in the month of April. We learned of DMX’s collapse, later revealed as a heart attack allegedly brought on by drug use, and after days in a coma, the Rap icon passed away. A concerning video of Black Rob surfaced showing the former Bad Boy rapper looking ill while in a hospital. Days later, we were hit with the sad news that Black Rob passed, as well, and just last night (April 22), the internet lit up after it was confirmed that Digital Underground icon Shock G died at the age of 57.
Fans have been metabolizing this string of Hip Hop deaths in various ways, and during a chat with Los Angeles radio station Power 106, Jim Jones reflected on DMX and Black Rob. The New York rapper spoke on the close-knit communities in the Big Apple and explained why losing these two icons “was a double hurt.
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Jones talked about sharing the stage with DMX and having a long-lasting “mutual respect” relationship with the late rapper. “Harlem is like, three degrees of separation instead of six degrees of separation,” explained Jones. “When we lose Black Rob or when we see Black Rob was in the hospital just before his passing, it was like a double hurt, especially being from Harlem, and Black Rob being a few avenues up the street from me.”
Jones shared both he and Rob grew up in project houses not far from one another. “Black Rob came on and put on for the whole Eastside, put on for everybody from Harlem… And I know that he helped Bad Boy gain the success they had through some of the records he has put out.”
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“It’s dope that [Black Rob] has left a legacy that no one can erase at the end of the day,” Jones added. “And coming from Harlem, that’s real special.” Watch Jones interview with Power 106 below.