Rich Homie Quan, Atlanta Rap Hero, Dies at 34
With Young Thug, the Atlanta rapper helped pave the way for a new wave of pop-minded melodicism in his city’s hip-hop scene.
Rich Homie Quan died on Thursday, Georgia’s Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to the New York Times. The Atlanta rapper was 34 years old. A cause of death has not been shared publicly.
Revered for his pop-minded hooks, unabashed melodicism and off-the-cuff swagger, Rich Homie Quan followed up a major breakout single, 2013’s “Type of Way,” with a legendary mixtape run and unforgettable collaborations with Young Thug through the duo Rich Gang.
Born Dequantes Devontay Lamar in Atlanta, Rich Homie Quan fostered passions for baseball and creative writing as a child. When he went to jail shortly after high school, he discovered a renewed love of reading, and writing poetry. He shared his first mixtape, I Go In on Every Song, in 2012, shortly after his release. He swiftly fired off two more projects in its wake: Still Goin In and Still Goin In – Reloaded. His third tape spawned his first massive hit, “Type of Way,” which charted at No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was ultimately re-released on Def Jam. The track ultimately helped nab Rich Homie Quan a spot in XXL’s 2014 Freshman Class alongside Isaiah Rashad, Kevin Gates, Ty Dolla $ign, and more.
“When I was a kid I loved to read. Literature was my favorite subject. I loved creative writing classes. So when I got locked up, I read my first book in jail,” Rich Homie Quan told XXL at the time. “I have been reading for years, but I read my first book in jail with understanding. When I learned how to really read a book, it took my mind to another place. So after that, then I started writing poems, and after that my poems didn’t sound like poems, they sounded like rhymes. I was like, ‘Let me see if I can put it on a beat.’”
Rich Homie Quan linked up with Young Thug through the Cash Money Records supergroup Rich Gang, formed by Birdman. Their 2014 mixtape Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1, a now-seminal text that helped shape the sound of American rap for the rest of the 2010s, featured classics like “Milk Marie” and “Freestyle.” But arguably the duo’s biggest hit, “Lifestyle,” arrived as a lead single for Rich Gang 2, just ahead of a planned Rich Gang tour that never materialized. Off the road, Rich Homie Quan managed to notch another solo hit (and a viral dance craze) in 2015 with “Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh),” which reached No. 26 on the Singles chart.
In 2018, following a few more mixtapes, Rich Homie Quan released his lone studio album, Rich as in Spirit, via Motown Records. He returned with the Family & Mula EP, and a deluxe, in 2022. Earlier this summer, he linked up with 2 Chainz for “Ah’chi.” In an interview conducted just a day before news of his death broke, Rich Homie Quan told a reporter he had “a plethora” of new music on the way.
“I just want people to appreciate the music,” he shared. “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.”
Since news of his passing, several affiliated artists have paid tribute to Rich Homie Quan on social media, including Jacquees, Quavo, 9th Wonder, and 2 Chainz. 2 Chainz, with whom Rich Homie Quan frequently collaborated, wrote: “Dam lil brother, we just spoke about shooting a video 💙, special prayer for you and your family, and pray for any and everybody that’s dealing with something 🙏🏿 my condolences bru 🕊️.”
