Rich Homie Quan, a hitmaker who helped develop rap, dies at 34: NPR

Rich Homie Quan, an Atlanta native who played a key role in the city's adoption of hip-hop's sound and attitude in the mid-2010s, has died. The rapper's rapid rise alongside peers like Young Thug, with whom he worked in the group Rich Gang, resulted in a string of hits that switched the lingua franca of rap from staccato rhythms to melodic flows. His death was confirmed to NPR by his father, Corey Lamar, who did not give a cause of death. He was 34.

When a beloved artist dies, it is almost impossible to summarize his life in a handful of Billboard Hot 100 hits in the charts. And Rich Homie has left his mark on many of them – seven to be exact — all within a two-year blitz between 2013 and 2015 that took him from a combative unknown to an inescapable force in the industry. They read like the roll call of an era when Atlanta rap overtook the sound of pop and made him the industry’s shaker: “Type of Way,” YG’s “My Hitta,” Rich Gang’s “Lifestyle,” “Walk Thru,” “Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh),” the Fast and Furious “Ride Out” from the franchise, even “Save Dat Money” by Lil Dicky.

Quan, a son of East Atlanta, cultivated his talent for years in his mother's basement and even during a brief stint in prison before breaking onto the charts almost overnight. From the start, Quan struggled to stand out in a city full of young hopefuls. He found his way to fame with “Differences,” a song from his 2012 mixtape. Still therethat demonstrated his hunger and made him a man to watch. He quickly became a hitmaker, creating signature street anthems, and he was at the forefront of a wave that challenged and changed the sound of hip-hop and, by extension, American music.

Atlanta's rap scene had already been on the rise for a few decades before Rich Homie Quan came along, but his rise coincided with the city's solidification of identity as an undisputed hip-hop mecca. Along with other Atlanta contemporaries like Future and Thug, Quan shaped a new generation of post-OutKast ATLiens – equal parts street-hardened, plaintive and psychedelic in sound and style. While regional rappers – West Coast veterans and early Southern revolutionaries alike – had always dabbled in sing-song delivery, Quan and his ilk captured an era in which technological advances in recording allowed them to freely craft, or “breathe,” their melodic flows without being tethered to pad and pen. The resulting sound reached new prominence with the release of Rich Gang Tha Tour Part 1a mixtape that paired Quan and Thug with Cash Money/Young Money's Birdman on songs like their 2014 opus “Lifestyle,” which found them expressing their wildest desires in voices so vulnerable they almost belied their expressed intentions. The duo set a new standard for one-off pairings, but success was short-lived, quickly displaced by clashing egos as money and fame disrupted their magical connection.

Quan's story is one of wild success and timeless impact, but it also shows how the ups and downs of the industry can drain young talent just as quickly as they emerge. His deadlock with Thug became a harbinger of trouble for Quan, who sued his record label Think It's a Game Records in 2016 for unpaid royalties. While the legal battles were eventually settled, they deprived Quan of creative output at the height of his career. He went silent for two years before returning with a mixtape in 2017, followed by a debut studio album. Rich as in spiritthat signaled a transformation. Although the landscape to which Quan returned was largely shaped by his sonic influence, he himself was also changed; his street-hardened sharpness was replaced by a more mature, thoughtful sound.

In the ongoing gang conspiracy case against Young Thug, Rich Homie Quan was added to the prosecution's indictment because of a shooting that occurred at a barbershop owned by Quan's father. His father was reportedly injured in the shooting, although Quan has downplayed the incident in recent interviews.

While promoting its release in 2022 Family & MulaHe spoke frequently about the overwhelming stress of balancing early success with falling into legal traps, increasing drug use and the stalling of his creative output. “I had a dark cloud over my head,” he said on Math Hoffa's hip-hop podcast My expert opinion. “I was probably at the lowest point of my life.” Speaking five years after that low point, after he had kicked his addiction, he sounded clear-headed – both about his musical future and how his absence had revealed his lasting impact on the game. Although he never regained his former glory, Rich Homie Quan clawed his way to the top by fighting through rock bottom. No man can outlive such a rich legacy.