Bushwick Bill confirmed dead at age 52
Bill’s publicist issued a statement about the rapper’s passing.
Bushwick Bill has been confirmed dead at age 52.
On Sunday (June 9), Bill’s publicist issued a statement about the rapper’s passing via Rolling Stone. “Bushwick Bill passed away peacefully this evening at 9:35 p.m. He was surrounded by his immediate family,” Dawn P. told the outlet.
Initial reports stated the Geto Boys emcee had passed away earlier that morning, however, those claims turned out to be untrue. The Jamaica native revealed his diagnosis to fans last month after learning he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer in February.
A Long Goodbye tour, headlined by the Geto Boys, was canceled in May after Bill pulled out. The 52-year-old felt promoters were exploiting his cancer diagnosis for ticket sales and promotion and planned to embark on his own tour this month.
In 1991, the iconic hip hop group made waves with the release of their third studio album, We Can’t Be Stopped. The album cover featured a photo of the group in the hospital with Bill after he was reportedly shot in the eye to receive insurance money for his mother. Previous reports claimed Bill shot himself after getting into an altercation with his then-girlfriend.
The groups most notable single, “Minds Playing Tricks On Me,” hailed from the aforementioned LP and peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs Chart, respectively.
“We are looking into doing a public memorial at a later date. His family appreciates all of the prayers and support and are asking for privacy at this time,” Dawn P. concluded in her statement. Bill leaves behind four children. His Geto Boys groupmates, Willie D and Scarface, have yet to publicly comment on Bill’s passing at press time.
More on this story as it develops.