'Whoa!' Rapper Black Rob Dead At 51: Missy Elliott, Q-Tip & More React

Ex-Bad Boy rapper Black Rob has died. He was 51.

The New York native, who rose to popularity for his hit 2000 song “Whoa!”, passed away this weekend, his former label mate Mark Curry has confirmed. According to reports, Black Rob, whose birth name is Robert Ross, died due to kidney failure.

“I don’t know where to begin, but I thank everybody for the donations. Rob passed away about an hour ago,” a teary-eyed Curry shared of the late lyricist in an emotional video posted to Instagram Saturday (April 17). “We’ve lost a lot [of] legends and we can’t afford to lose anymore.”

The unfortunate news comes just a week after the hip-hop community mourned the death of DMX, to whom Ross paid tribute on camera from a hospital bed, sparking concern from fans who were unaware of his debilitating health battle.

“Let keep our prayers up Black Rob !!!” DJ Self captioned the video. “Get well man Please people out there take care of yourself BR was one of the greats Had NY on his back like Whaooo.”

Around that same time, Curry shared a GoFundMe started in Ross’ name to help the ailing musician “find a home, pay for medical help & stability during these trying times.”

First recruited on Diddy’s Bad Boy Records in the mid-‘90s, Black Rob saw success with the release of his debut studio album, Life Story. The album spawned the summer jam “Whoa!”, which peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In the wake of the devastating news, Missy Elliott, LL Cool J, and others in the hip-hop community honored his memory. See the tributes below:

Photo: Getty Images


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