NEW YORK (AP) – Rapper Black Rob, known for his hit “Whoa!” and key contributions to Diddy’s dominant Bad Boy Records in the 1990s and early 2000s died. He was 52 years old.
Black Rob died Saturday in Atlanta, according to longtime friend and former label colleague Mark Curry, who said he holds the hand of the hip-hop performer at the end. He was hospitalized and suffered multiple health problems in recent years and died of cardiac arrest, Curry said.
“Rest in power, King,” Diddy wrote on Instagram. “You’ve made millions of people around the world feel good and dance!”
Born Robert Ross and raised in Harlem, New York, Black Rob began singing before he became a teenager. After signing with Bad Boy, he made striking appearances with fellow labels in the 1990s and early 2000s, including Diddy’s “Bad Boy for Life” and remixes of “What About Us” and “Come See Me.” of the 112.
He did a 13 bar revenge story on the 1998 mailbox “24 Hrs. to live ”with DMX, who died earlier this month.
His debut album “Life Story”, released in 2000, reached number 3 on the Billboard charts and went platinum, led by the infectious single “Whoa!”
”“ Whoa! “It took us through a significant moment of our time in hip-hop,” Curry said. “He always felt like he had the label on his back.”
His second album, “The Black Rob Report”, was his last with Bad Boy, and his career ended due to legal issues. He served four years in prison in connection with a 2004 hotel robbery.
Curry said that Diddy has helped Black Rob financially over the years and that he pays for the rapper’s funeral.