These rappers are part of a string of artists who have died by gun violence, with at least one rapper being fatally shot every year since 2018. But experts say the problem is much more complex than that. Elaine Richardson, a professor at Ohio State University who specializes in African American cultures, literacy and hip-hop, said it’s important to prioritize systemic issues when we discuss the killings of rappers. La Rock, who was part of the influential hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions, was fatally shot outside a Bronx apartment complex that summer. “There’s this prevailing notion that rap artists have the most dangerous job, but I don’t subscribe to that.”

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