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The Grim Reaper has once again had its eyes set on the music world in 2018, tragically taking many young artists before their time.
Hip-hop has been especially hit hard, with a number of the genre’s young stars — including XXXTentacion and Mac Miller — dying in recent months.
Miller was the latest casualty, dying of a suspected drug overdose on Sept. 7.
We look back at some of the young artists lost in 2018:
Mac Miller
Rapper Mac Miller died of a suspected drug overdose in his San Fernando Valley home on Sept. 7. He was 26 years old. Miller had detailed his history of substance abuse in his music, and had also rapped about premature death. He and pop star Ariana Grande dated for about a year and a half. Miller’s friends credit Grande for encouraging him to stay sober but she described the fear of being with a partner battling addiction shortly after their breakup in April.
Top tracks include: “Self Care,” “Ladders,” “Hurt Feelings”
Jill Janus
The lead vocalist for heavy metal band Huntress died on August 14, 2018 of an apparent suicide outside Portland, Oregon. The singer, 43, had long struggled with mental illness, according to CBS News.
Top tracks include: “Zenith,” “Eight of Swords,” “Sorrow”
Joseph Maus
The 30-year-old bandmate and brother of synth musician John Maus, died on July 28, 2018. He was on tour with his brother in Latvia. At the time no cause of death had been released. Earlier this year, John Maus had released his fifth studio album “Addendum.”
Top tracks include: “The Combine,” “Hey Moon,” “Touchdown” (all John Maus tracks)
Smoke Dawg
The up-and-coming Toronto rapper was shot and killed June 30 in what was described as a brazen daylight attack in that city’s busy Toronto District — making him the third young rapper to die in gun violence that month. Dawg, 21, had been Drake’s opening act on his Boy Meets World European tour.
“All these gifts and blessed souls and inner lights being extinguished lately is devastating,” Drake wrote in an Instagram story about Dawg. “So much talent and so many stories we never get to see play out. Rest up Smoke.”
Top tracks include: “Overseas,” “Count It Up,” “Trap House”
XXXTentacion
The 20-year-old rapper, born Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, was shot and killed on June 18 in an apparent robbery outside a motorcycle shop in South Florida. Four men have since been indicted on murder charges. XXXTentacion’s song “SAD!,” originally released several months earlier, skyrocketed to no. 1 on the Billboard Top 100, after sitting at no. 52 the previous week. But XXXTentacion was well known for his own history of violence, including an arrest for allegedly beating an ex-girlfriend who was pregnant at the time and his admission that he beat a fellow juvenile-detention inmate nearly to death for looking at him with “perceived same-sex lust,” according to Slate.
Top tracks include: “SAD!,” “Moonlight,” “Changes”
Jimmy Wopo
The 21-year-old Pittsburg rapper, born Travon Smart, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Pittsburgh, PA on June 18. He was about to sign a record contract with Wiz Khalifa’s Atlantic-affiliated label, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Top tracks include: “Today’s a Good Day,” “Elm Street,” “Elm Street 2”
Scott Hutchison
The Scottish musician and lead singer of the band Frightened Rabbit died at age 36 after he was reported missing on May 9. His body was found the following day at a marina on the banks of the Firth of Forth. His family said they had been concerned about his mental health and Hutchison spoke openly about his battle with depression over the years, according to the BBC.
Top tracks include: “The Woodpile,” “Get Out,” “Keep Yourself Warm”
Avicii
The Swedish producer and DJ died by suicide while on vacation in Muscat, Oman on April 20. In a letter obtained by Variety, the 28-year-old DJ’s family said “he could not go on any longer” and that “he wanted to find peace.” They also described the massively successful electronic dance-music artist as an “over-achieving perfectionist” and “fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions.” In recent years, he had dealt with serious health issue, in part due to excessive drinking.
Top tracks include: “Wake Me Up,” “Waiting For Love,” “The Nights”
Caleb Scofield
The 39-year-old bassist and vocalist for metal bands Cave In, Old Man Gloom and Zozobra died in a car accident March 28. He was in a his truck when it crashed into a toll booth in New Hampshire, Rolling Stone reported:
Top tracks include: “Stained Silver,” “Anchor,” “To Carry the Flame”
Patrick Doyle
The Scottish indie musician, a drummer for Veronica Falls and a songwriter for Boys Forever and Basic Plumbing, died suddenly in Los Angeles on March 4. He was 32. A cause of death had not been released at the time.
Top tracks include: “Teenage,” “Found Love in a Graveyard,” “Starry Eyes”
Dolores O’Riordan
The Cranberries singer known for her powerful, haunting voice was found “unresponsive” in the bathtub of her hotel room in central London on Jan. 15. Hours earlier the Irish singer, 46, had had left an upbeat message for a longtime friend saying she was excited about the new cover of her hit “Zombie” and couldn’t wait to get back into the studio. O’Riordan had been in London to record the new single.
It was later determined that O’Riordan had accidentally drowned in her bathtub due to alcohol intoxication. She had long been open in interviews about her struggles with bipolar disorder, depression, anorexia and being the survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Friends of O’Riordan also reportedly said she had been “dreadfully depressed” in the weeks before her death and suffering with a lot of back pain.
Top tracks include: “Linger,” “Dreams,” “Zombie”
