OFFICIAL DIE FAMOUS

Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actor. Prince was renowned as an innovator and was widely known for his eclectic work, flamboyant stage presence, and wide vocal range. He was widely regarded as the pioneer of Minneapolis sound. His music integrates a wide variety of styles, including funk, rock, R&B, soul, hip hop, disco, psychedelia, jazz, and pop.

Prince was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and developed an interest in music at an early age, writing his first song at age seven. After recording songs with his cousin's band 94 East, 19-year-old Prince recorded several unsuccessful demo tapes before releasing his debut album For You in 1978, under the guidance of manager Owen Husney. His 1979 album Prince went platinum due to the success of the singles "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover". His next three records—Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982)—continued his success, showcasing Prince's trademark of prominently sexual lyrics and incorporation of elements of funk, dance, and rock music. In 1984, he began referring to his backup band as The Revolution and released Purple Rain, which served as the soundtrack to his film debut of the same name. A prolific songwriter, Prince in the 1980s wrote songs for and produced work by many other acts, often under pseudonyms.

After releasing the albums Around the World in a Day (1985) and Parade (1986), The Revolution disbanded and Prince released the critically acclaimed double album Sign "O" the Times (1987) as a solo artist. He released three more solo albums before debuting The New Power Generation band in 1991. He changed his stage name in 1993 to an unpronounceable symbol (Prince logo.svg), also known as the "Love Symbol". He then began releasing new albums at a faster pace to remove himself from contractual obligations to Warner Bros.; he released five records between 1994 and 1996 before signing with Arista Records in 1998. In 2000, he began referring to himself as "Prince" again. He released 15 albums after that; his final album, HITnRUN Phase Two, was first released exclusively on the Tidal streaming service on December 11, 2015.[1]

Prince has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.[2] He won seven Grammy Awards,[3] a Golden Globe Award,[4] and an Academy Award.[5] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the first year of his eligibility.[6] Rolling Stone ranked Prince at number 27 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[7]

Sean Price (March 17, 1972 – August 8, 2015) was an American rapper and member of the hip hop supergroups Boot Camp Clik and Random Axe with Guilty Simpson and producer Black Milk. He came to fame as one-half of the duo Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruckus, or in short Ruck, along with partner Rock. 

On August 8, 2015, Price died at the age of 43. Details surrounding his death were not immediately available, but a statement from his reps confirmed his death, while adding that he died in his sleep. "It is with beyond a heavy heart that Duck Down Music is sadly confirming that Sean Price passed away early this morning in his Brooklyn apartment, Saturday, August 8th, 2015," read the statement. "The cause of death is currently unknown, but it was reported that he died in his sleep. He's survived by his wife, and his three children."

2009: On May 18, 2009, Southern rapper Roderick Anthony Burton II, better known as his stage name, Dolla, tragically died in a shooting in Los Angeles. He was 21-years-old.

Born in Chicago but raised in Decatur, Georgia, Dolla first started rapping at the age of thirteen, first going by the name Bucklyte. After spending some time in different rap groups, a solo Dolla signed with Akon’s Konvict Muzik label in 2007. Still a rising star, Dolla released his first single under Konvict Muzik in ’07 entitled “Who the Fuck Is That?” The T-Pain produced track featured T-Pain and Tay Dizm and landed at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year. “Who the Fuck Is That?” was set to be the lead single off Dolla’s debut album, A Dolla and a Dream.

Following an altercation at an Atlanta nightclub on May 7, 2009 between Dolla and a man named Aubrey Louis Berry, Dolla was shot by Berry in Los Angeles on May 18, 2009. During the shooting, Dolla was with his friends Scrapp Deleon and DJ Shabbazz, who rushed him to the hospital. Dolla was pronounced dead on arrival due to a bullet piercing his heart. Berry claimed the shooting was self defense because Dolla and others had jumped him in Atlanta and were following him in Los Angeles.

Lionel Pickens (December 3, 1983 – May 17, 2015), better known by his stage name Chinx (formerly Chinx Drugz), was an American rapper. He was a member of French Montana's Coke Boys group and record label, which also consists of Cheeze, Flip, and Lil Durk. He was best known for his appearances on the Coke Boys mixtapes and the Cocaine Riot mixtape series.

Chinx was shot by an assailant in the Queens, New York, neighborhood of Briarwood and died in a Jamaica, New York hospital on May 17, 2015.

Musical career  2000–2010: Beginnings and Hurry Up & Die series  Chinx was born and raised in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens, New York. When speaking of how he started rapping Chinx Drugz said, "I started rapping at the table in junior high school for fun with the homies and then by 9th grade is when I started taking music seriously. At that point is when I started investing my street money into my studio time and trying to find my sound.” He said he got the name "Chinx Drugz", "since I used to smoke a lot of weed back in the day, and this older chick used to call me chinkey and it stuck, the drugz well that’s self explanatory, I been slangin on these corners."He first started rapping with his close friend Stack Bundles while he was in high school, who he would later form the group Riot Squad with, along with local rappers Bynoe and Cau2Gs. However, he would be incarcerated shortly after for four years at Mid-State Correctional Facility.

Stack Bundles along with rapper Max B joined Jim Jones' group Byrd Gang. He then met fellow New York rapper French Montana through Max B in 2009, who he would form the hip hop group, Coke Boys with. On April 13, 2009, Drugz released his first solo mixtape, Hurry Up & Die Vol. 1: Get Ya Casket On.[5][6] He followed that with Hurry Up & Die Vol. 2: From The Cage To The Stage on January 7, 2010. Drugz then released the third mixtape in that series, Hurry Up & Die Vol. 3 on April 13, 2010. 

2011–2012: Coke Boys and Cocaine Riot 1 & 2 On March 15, 2011, Drugz released his fourth official mixtape Flight 2011, which was entirely produced by New York producer Harry Fraud. The mixtape featured a sole guest appearance from Coke Boys-cohort French Montana. Then on April 19, 2011, he released his fifth solo mixtape Cocaine Riot, featuring guest appearances from the various members of Coke Boys. On August 20, 2011, Coke Boys released their first official collaboration mixtape Coke Boys 2. The mixtape was primarily produced by Harry Fraud, with additional production from Lex Luger. Coke Boys 2 featured members Drugz, Montana, Cheeze, Flip, and Charlie Rock. Following the Coke Boys 2 release, on September 24, 2011, Drugz and French Montana released a collaboration mixtape named, Coke Boys Run NY. 

On April 13, 2012, Coke Boys released their second collaboration mixtape, Coke Boys 3, which significantly featured Montana and Drugz throughout, along with Flip, Cheeze, and Charlie Rock. Additional guest appearances came from Akon, Mac Miller, Rick Ross, Wale, and Red Cafe among others.The mixtape was met with positive reviews from music critics, with the production the focal point of the praise.XXL credited Montana and Drugz as being the stars of the mixtape. On July 3, 2012, Drugz released his sixth solo mixtape Cocaine Riot 2, to positive critical reception with AllHipHop calling it a "classic". Cocaine Riot 2 featured guest appearances from rappers Montana, Action Bronson, Wale, Chevy Woods and Flip, among others.Cocaine Riot 2 featured the significant Montana and Drugz collaboration "I'm A Coke Boy".In 2012 he was featured on Wale's "Let a Nigga Know" and Vado's "You Ain't Good". 

2013: Cocaine Riot 3[edit] On January 4, 2013, Drugz released the official remix to "I'm A Coke Boy" featuring rappers Rick Ross and Diddy, along with French Montana. The remix would end up being ranked number 43 on Complex's list of the 50 best songs of 2013.Then on April 15, 2013, Drugz released his seventh solo mixtape Cocaine Riot 3, which featured the previously released remix to "I'm A Coke Boy".Cocaine Riot 3 featured additional guest appearances from Ace Hood, Juicy J, Montana, Rick Ross, Yo Gotti, DJ Khaled, Roscoe Dash and Flip, among others. Drugz told MTV that, "When I was making this mixtape, I was just trying to give the people something a little different from my normal. I basically started messing with a couple of different beats, but I kept it real New York. But I just really wanted to give 'em the other side of Chinx that they ain't been hearing in a while."The mixtape closes with "Maybe", a tribute to his deceased childhood friend Stack Bundles. In a positive review XXL stated, "For all its signs of promise, Cocaine Riot 3 also has some rookie mistakes. There’s also an over-reliance on features here that the mixtape could do without. The heavy guest list prevents Cocaine Riot 3 from being a landmark release, and so this mixtape ends up being more of a continuation of what we’ve already heard from Chinx Drug, rather than a step to the next level. Time will tell if he’s up for that challenge."

Less than a week after the release of Cocaine Riot 3, Drugz released the music video for the remix to "I'm A Coke Boy". On May 14, 2013, Drugz released his four previous major solo mixtapes, Flight 411, and the Cocaine Riot series for retail sale on iTunes.  He was also featured on Montana's debut studio album, Excuse My French on the deluxe edition track "Throw It in the Bag". Then on May 22, 2013, "Right There" featuring Juicy J and French Montana was released as the first single from Cocaine Riot 3.  "Up In Here" featuring Ace Hood would be released as the mixtape's second single on June 11, 2013. On August 12, 2013, Drugz released the music video for "Up In Here" featuring Ace Hood from Cocaine Riot 3, which was shot in Miami, Florida. That same day, French Montana announced that Coke Boys were working on their debut studio album as a group, along with a third mixtape to be released prior to the album. 

2013–2015: I'll Take It From Here and Welcome To JFK[edit] On October 4, 2013, Chinx Drugz, now just going by "Chinx", announced he would release a EP via NuSense Music Group and Coke Boys Records, executive produced by Rick Steel titled I'll Take It From Here, in November 2013.[40] On October 28, 2013, Chinx released "Feelings" featuring French Montana, the first single from the EP. On November 26, 2013, it would be revealed that Coke Boys would release their fourth mixtape in December 2013. That same day, Chinx released his debut retail project, the previously announced EP I'll Take It from Here. Then he was featured prominently on Coke Boys fourth mixtape, Coke Boys 4 which was released on January 1, 2014. On February 1, 2014, Chinx released the music video for "Feelings". In April 2014, Chinx revealed that his next mixtape would be titled Cocaine Riot 4 and released on May 15, 2014. He also told XXL that his debut studio album would be titled Welcome To JFK.  He is being considered for the 2015 XXL magazine freshman class.

Death 

On May 17th, 2015, NYPD officers responded to a 911 call in Briarwood, Queens around 4:00 a.m. There, they found Chinx and another victim in a car at Queens Boulevard and 84th Drive. Chinx was transported to Jamaica Medical Center in Jamaica, Queens with gunshot wounds to his torso, where he was pronounced dead, at age 31.