Donny Hathaway – Soul – Image 15 from Music and Suicide: A Tragic History

Music and Suicide: A Tragic History

Former X Factor finalist Simone Battle passed away.

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R.I.P. Simone Battle – Singer Simone Battle, former X Factor finalist and one-third of of the tri-national all-girl group G.R.L., passed away Sept. 5 from an apparent suicide. She was 25. Her father told TMZ that there was no sign of depression and that she was excited about where her career was going –– the group just did a record with Pitbull –– but he doesn’t suspect foul play.Sadly, this is not the first time a suicide has struck the music community. Read on.(Photo: Ray Tamarra/GC Images)

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KayO Redd – Tragedy struck the final holidays of 2013 when KayO Redd, a Brick Squad Monopoly signee and younger brother of Waka Flocka Flame, was found dead Dec. 29 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. “I lost another son,” their mom, Deb Antney, tweeted out.(Photo: KayO Redd via Twitter)

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Freddy E – Up-and-coming Seattle rapper and online personality Freddy E was found dead after an apparent suicide on Jan. 5, 2013. The incident played out on social media in real time, with the rapper tweeting a series of disturbing messages before his death. “If there’s a God then He’s calling me back home. This barrel never felt so good next to my dome. It’s cold & I’d rather die than live alone,” he wrote. “It’s… all… bad… y’all. *puts finger around trigger*” (Photo: Twitter/Freddy_E)

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Capital Steez – Christmas Eve 2012 was a sad day for hip hop. Capital Steez, the mega-talented rapper who spit alongside Joey Bada$ on his breakthrough track “Survival Tactics,” died at the age of 19, just days after his Pro Era crew dropped a new mixtape, PEEP: The aPROcalypse. Steez’s last tweet read “The End,” prompting many to believe he killed himself.(Photo: Capital Steez/Facebook)

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Phyllis Hyman – Silky-voiced soul diva Phyllis Hyman took her life on June 30, 1995, by overdosing on sleeping pills. Her suicide note read, “I’m tired. I’m tired. Those of you that I love know who you are. May God bless you.” (Photo: Arista Records)

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Chris Lighty – Legendary hip hop exec Chris Lighty, who managed the careers of 50 Cent, Fat Joe, LL Cool J and many other rap icons, shot himself on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012, outside his apartment in the Bronx after an argument with his ex-wife. (Photo: AP Photo/Jim Cooper, file)

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Don Cornelius – The legendary founder and host of Soul Train shocked many when he took his own life on Feb. 1, 2012. Cornelius shot himself after a long battle with health problems. (Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage)

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Disco D – DJ and beatmaker Disco D, who produced for 50 Cent, UGK and AZ, committed suicide on Jan. 23, 2007, after a long battle with the depression of his bipolar disorder. (Photo: Tatiana Arocha/Ghostly International Records)

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Kurt Cobain – The body of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who shot himself in the head after struggling with drug abuse and depression, was found on April 8, 1994. (Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

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Weldon Irvine – Weldon Irvine, an acclaimed jazz-funk keyboardist whose ’70s recordings were sampled by the likes of A Tribe Called Quest and Boogie Down Productions, shot himself in front of an office complex in New York on April 9, 2002. (Photo: Nodlew Music)

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