It is also the title of “celebrity” that becomes a barrier to finding the support needed to a healthier lifestyle for some who aren’t able to maintain the glamour that is “expected” of someone famous. She adds that the myth and allure of being rich and famous with screaming fans, tour bus stories, access, attention and so much more can make day-to-day life less appealing. Her debut album, Cuts for Luck and Scars for Freedom, was released in 2001 and re-released in 2011. “Once you hit and have been across everybody’s television or across everybody’s radio, how easy is it to say, ‘I’m not worried about a job’,” said Digital Underground protégé and friend Mandolyn “Mystic” Ludlum, now a program manager at Hip Hop Caucus. In addition to their groundbreaking hits, Oakland-based hip-hop pioneers Digital Underground contributed to the landscape of hip-hop by introducing the world to other artists such as Tupac Shakur, The Luniz and Mystic. People are revered for their talents and their contributions to the cultural landscape. The idea of “celebrity” makes people seem larger than life but doesn’t mean that our favorites aren’t human. It illustrates the type of challenges that many others face.” “When you look at folks who are just in their 50s, maybe 60 if you’re talking about some of the dancers, it’s just it’s still too soon,” Cook said. Granberry, who continues to work with Money B, says that this loss hit him hard. Granberry’s uncle, Thomas McElroy of writer-producer duo Foster & McElroy, recorded with Oakland artists En Vogue and Club Nouveau at Starlight Studios in Richmond when Digital Underground’s Money B and Shock G were also recording. “All the damage you did when you were younger catches up with you and you end up leaving this earth a lot sooner than you should.” “I’ve witnessed too much partying,” Granberry says. Lifestyles that were once revered as an industry standard in 1990’s hip-hop - partying, drugs, and spending money - are now showing the stress of financial instability, housing insecurity, liver disease, heart disease and diabetes. “In hip-hop, we have to start creating messages on the importance of health and of long-term substance use and long-term drinking and the effect it plays on the body,” said Shawn Granberrry, CEO and founder of HipHopTV, who has known Shock G since the early 90s. The loss is also all too familiar and personal when we look deeper to see our favorite artists are experiencing health determinants similar to the ones closer to home. The deaths of hip-hop artists often comes as a surprise because they are not only close to our hearts, but relatively young. Cook co-authored the book “ Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: (Young Adult Edition): A Hip-Hop History” with senior advisor at Race Forward and historian Jeff Chang. “It’s part of a larger challenge that I think we’re all faced with,” the nationally recognized hip-hop historian and adjunct professor at San Francisco State added. “Shock’s death was not in isolation,” Cook said. These deaths were the result of long-term crises and are not isolated instances, according to Oakland-based radio host and journalist Davey D Cook. Robert “Black Rob” Ross died at age 52 on April 23 for unconfirmed reasons. Jacobs’ death came on the tails of the losses of two other prominent rap artists: Earl “DMX” Simmons died at age 50 on April 9 after suffering a heart attack and spending a week in the hospital. The most recent death that shook us to the core was when Digital Underground rapper and producer Gregory “Shock G” Jacobs was found deceased in his hotel room in Tampa, Florida, on April 22 at the age of 57. As millions of people commiserate and share their remembrances online for their favorite artists, there is an underlying issue that goes unaddressed - the lack of long-term health care and treatment not only for our beloved hip-hop artists who came of age in the 90s, but for us all. Members of the hip-hop community are recognizing that a conversation about health and wellness for artists has become increasingly more important.
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