Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for Live Nation
Robert Ross, the rapper known as Black Rob, who scored hits like Whoa! and Can I Live for Bad Boy Records in the early 2000s, died Saturday, April 17, at the age of 52.
Ross died at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner s office. His cause of death is still pending.
Raised in Harlem, Ross began rapping as a preteen during an era when New York was still the center of hip-hop s universe. He grew up listening to Spoonie Gee and Slick Rick, who he later told MTV was a childhood idol. In his early twenties, he formed his first group, Schizophrenics, and signed with Bad Boy Records soon after. His imprint on Bad Boy, helmed by Sean Diddy Combs, started slow; after joining the label in the late 90s, Ross made guest appearances on songs and remixes by 112, Total, Faith Evans, and Mase before releasing his signature song, Whoa! in 2000.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Live Nation
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Black Rob performs onstage during the Puff Daddy and The Family Bad Boy Reunion Tour in 2016. The Whoa! rapper died Saturday at age 52. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Live Nation
Robert Ross, the rapper known as Black Rob, who scored hits like Whoa! and Can I Live for Bad Boy Records in the early 2000s, died Saturday, April 17, at the age of 52.
Ross died at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner s office. His cause of death is still pending.
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