Rich Homie Quan, Atlanta Rap Visionary, Dead at 34

Rich Homie Quan, who created Atlanta rap hits in the 2010s as a solo artist and member of Rich Gang, died Thursday at the age of 34. The Fulton County Medical Examiner and a family member confirmed his death to Rolling Stone, but a cause of death was not immediately available.

Born Dequantes Lamar, Rich Homie Quan made his mainstream breakthrough in 2013 with the catchy tracks “Type of Way” and YG’s “My Nigga,” though he gained traction in his hometown of Atlanta as early as 2008 with the song “Stay Down” featuring the Stack Money Boyz. In interviews, Lamar was frank about the hustling and robbing he had to do – in 2011, at 21, he was incarcerated at DeKalb County Jail for 15 months. He told XXL that he took comfort in books by James Patterson and Sandra Brown as well as making songs.

Upon his release, Lamar created a series of mixtapes about “Going In” — working hard to great results — beginning with 2012’s I Go in on Every Song and continuing with tapes like Still Goin In: Reloaded, I Promise I Will Never Stop Going In, If You Ever Think I Will Stop Goin’ In Ask RR (his son) and ABTA: Still Going In. After its 2013 release, “Type of Way” went gold and received remixes from trap hero Jeezy and Meek Mill. “Type of Way” was followed by the hits “Walk Thru” with Compton rapper Problem and “Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)” in 2015. (The latter became well-known for a viral dance.)

When Birdman oversaw the supergroup Rich Gang, Lamar became a standout on songs like “Lifestyle” with Young Thug, with whom he’d made the majority of the 2014 mixtape Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1. Across his career, Lamar also collaborated with Gucci Mane, Trinidad James, 2 Chainz, Migos, T.I., Lil Uzi Vert, and more. In 2018, he released his debut studio album, Rich as in Spirit.

Lamar was the eldest of three siblings, Atlanta venue Masquerade writes. He was close to his parents and enjoyed baseball, poetry, and Boy Meets World as a kid. In an interview posted just one day before the news of his passing, Lamar was warm towards budding reporter Alanah Story, who told him she grew up watching him. “You make me feel old,” he joked. “I get that a lot,” he added before giving her a hug and thanking her.

When asked about his future plans, he told her, “We got a plethora of music,” smiling. “I just want people to appreciate the music. The times we in, you play a song and that shit old in two days. When I get in the studio, I’m passionate about it, so I don’t want to drop music on deaf ears. I want to have marketing – I want to cross my T’s and dot my I’s.” He was reticent to confirm a release date, but was certain he’d drop before his birthday, October 4.