Following the news of former Bad Boy Records rapper Black Rob's death this past weekend, Diddy has broken his silence on the loss of the Harlem, N.Y. rhymer.
On Sunday (April 18), Diddy shared a throwback image of himself and Black Rob, born Robert Ross, which has a caption that reads, "Rest in power King @therealblackrob ! As I listen to your records today there’s one thing that they all have in common! You have made millions of people all over the world feel good and dance! You are one of a kind! GOD BLESS! 🙏🏿 Love. 🖤💫✨ You will be truly missed!!!! 💔."
Black Rob, known for his 2000 hit song "Whoa!," died at the age of 52 on Saturday (April 17). According to a report from The New York Times over the weekend, prior to his passing, Rob suffered a number of ailments including diabetes, lupus, kidney failure and several strokes. He died at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.
Last month, Black Rob was discharged from Piedmont Atlanta Hospital where he had been receiving dialysis.
Fellow Bad Boy Records artist Mark Curry revealed the cause of Rob's death as cardiac arrest in an understandably emotional Instagram post over the weekend.
"I thank everybody for the donations. Rob passed away about an hour ago," Curry said.
News of Black Rob's death came a week after a video emerged online of the New York City native lying in a hospital bed in a noticeable amount of pain. In the clip, Rob spoke on his failing health and battle with homelessness.
"What's up, man. What's going on," he began in the video on April 10. "I don't know what the pain is…the pain is crazy, man. It's helping me out, though. It's making me realize, I have a lot to go on, man."
An update was provided the following day, in which Black Rob, who had been released from the hospital, said, "I been dealing with this, man, for five years, four strokes. I don't know what to tell you, man. Shit is crazy. Shit is hard. I don't got no house to live in, except for a apartment me and my man be trying to get together. I'm telling you, man. This shit is strange, it's hard."
Producer Mike Zombie launched a GoFundMe page for Rob that same day to raise funds for the rapper's medical expenses and offer him some stability. Mark Curry was added to the crowdfunding account as a beneficiary to help get the funds to the rapper.
Black Rob had issues with his health in the past prior to his death. Back in 2013, he suffered a stroke in his sleep and endured issues related to the stroke afterwards.
His last album, Genuine Article, came out in 2015.
Rest in Peace, Black Rob.
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