Human caricature and North Korean leader with many, many titles, Kim Jong Il, has died of heart problems brought on by the “great mental and physical strain caused by his uninterrupted field guidance tour for the building of a thriving nation,” according to state television in Pyongyang, which reported his death. A son who’s only one name away, Kim Jong Un, was introduced as a successor in 2010. (Image: Alex Kuehn/flickr)
The rapper known as Heavy D has died at the age of 44. Gawker’s Hamilton Nolan, put it best: “He was a relentlessly positive rapper. You and your mom could both like him.” And this was true to the very end, even when it came to his Twitter page. RIP!
After a longstanding battle with cancer and other health problems, the maker of the computer that most of you read this very website on, has died at the age of 56. Steve Jobs: Thank You!
Graffiti royalty CASE2 passed away recently and despite his unquestionable influence on the art form, like many old school train writers, there was never a payday for him. To help give the graf legend a honorable sendoff, vandal-scholar Alan KET set up a fund on Kickstarter-clone IndieGoGo and is happy to report that a little over $4000 of the $5400 goal has been reached. Read more »
Charismatic graffiti legend CASE2 died on Sunday at the age of 53 from lung cancer. He was part of The Fantastic Partners (TFP) crew and is credited with developing the computer rock style of the art form. The subway painting pioneer made a name for himself in the 70s, bombing countless whole cars, and was immortalized in 1982 documentary Style Wars. Read more »
Talented singer and habitual drug user Amy Winehouse has died at the tender age of 27. She was reportedly found dead in her London apartment today. Earlier in the week, she attended the iTunes Festival where her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield was performing. Read more »
Jonas Bevacqua (pictured left), the co-founder and creative director of L-R-G, one of streetwear’s most successful brands, was found dead in his Laguna Beach home. The news first broke on Twitter and according to an industry insider, the culturepreneur died of of an apparent overdose. He was ONLY 33-years-old. (Photo: gwizy/flickr)
Gil Scott-Heron, an American super-poet who’s often referred to as one of the “first rappers,” died in New York on Friday at the age of 62. The unflinching black activist, pioneer of spoken word, and all around musical genius created an extensive of body work that began in the ’70s and never stopped. Some choice selections below. Read more »
After spending more than three decades in captivity, Ming Ming, the world’s oldest giant panda is dead at the age of 34. The animal actually died at a zoo in China over a week ago of natural causes, but officials decided not to tell anyone till now.
American super celebrity Elizabeth Taylor has died at the age of 79. But how will the icon be remembered? As a sizzling actress? Sex symbol? Frequent divorcee? Champion of AIDS research? Or by what will now be her final update on Twitter linking to the utterly senseless interview she did with Kim Kardashian for Harper’s Bazaar?
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