shades fills you in

Why do so many music stars die young? RollingStone’s top 100 rock artists have a life expectancy of 49. The average American lives to be 76

Maybe you’ve heard the famous “27 rule” -- where great artists are doomed to die before the age of 27. Psychology Today says the number is meaningless, but the trend is real -- young artists face many challenges that can lead to an early death

Ranker says Jimi Hendrix, Curt Cobain, and Jim Morrison are some of the greatest musicians to die before age 30

And it’s not just music, says Artnet -- many depressed young classical artists (painters, sculptors, etc.) lived short lives ending in suicide or overdose

Where’s the blame? The Guardian says drugs and violence have stolen a generation of rappers from us -- like Mac Miller, Juice Wrld, and Nipsey Hussle

Dazed.com says Xanax is the main killer in the rap scene— it’s deeply connected to the hip-hop industry, and has claimed too many lives

Rapper Lecrae says rappers should stop glorifying violence; it’s setting a bad example to the youth

But rappers draw inspiration from their surroundings, says The Harvard Crimson -- rappers sing about violence and drugs because their lives have violence and drugs

Vulture disagrees -- The new wave of rappers are ultra-violent in their lyrics and in their actions. We can’t ignore their negative impact on society anymore

Hold on, is fame the real killer? Psychologist Donna Rockwell says it’s a “dangerous drug”, and can cause real addiction

And maybe it’s the people around the stars: Juice World’s mom publicly blamed the rapper’s inner circle of “enablers” for her son’s death