Diddy and Black Rob pose at Virgin Mega Store in Times Square for the midnight release of 'The Saga Continues'
Photo by Diane L. Cohen via Getty Images
Diddy Breaks Silence on Black Rob's Death
The Bad Boy chief puts one up for Black Rob.
Over the last 24 hours, legends from all corners of hip-hop's map have poured out to honor the late Black Rob. The death of the East Harlem rapper, born Robert Ross, was announced yesterday by fellow Bad Boy Records alum, Mark Curry, in a tearful video just moments after Ross passed. And now, the label's founder and face, Diddy, has added his words to the chorus of remembrances flooding social media.
"You have made millions of people all over the world feel good and dance!" said Diddy in an Instagram post today (see below,) sharing a photo of himself with Ross at the release party for his third studio album, The Saga Continues. "You are one of a kind!" the mogul added in the brief salute to his former labelmate. The note was arguably the most anticipated of any former or current Black Rob affiliate. Though he had appeared on a number of releases from Bad Boy between 1996 and 1999, Black Rob officially joined the label in 2000 to release his debut album, Life Story. Anchored by the street anthem "Whoa!," the album went platinum and debuted at No. 3 on Billboard's 200 chart.
As Black Rob's health condition began drawing concern from the public, many fans urged Diddy to step in. According to Mark Curry, the Bad Boy chief did reach out after a GoFundMe campaign was launched to help with living and medical expenses. At the time of his hospitalization last week, the rapper was reportedly facing houselessness.
The cause of the rapper's death was determined to be cardiac arrest. However, Curry told The New York Times Ross had been suffering from a number of ailments, including kidney failure, diabetes, lupus, and multiple strokes.
