When Hip Hop Stars Survive Near-Fatal Crashes
10 accidents involving rap stars who lived to talk about it.
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Sean Kingston - Hip hop singer Sean Kingston is headed for a successful recovery, after a near tragic Jet Ski accident this weekend. The “Beautiful Girls” singer and a female friend were riding a Jet Ski in Miami Beach on Sunday, May 29, when Kingston crashed the pair into a low bridge. Cassandra Sanchez sustained minor injuries while Kingston was taken to the hospital. His condition has stabilized, but he remains in critical condition. Alcohol has been ruled out as a factor in the incident. (Photo by Kristian Dowling/PictureGroup)
Photo By Kristian Dowling/PictureGroup
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Cassidy\r - In 2006, Cassidy was on his way to a studio in Yonkers, New York, when a U-Haul truck swerved into oncoming traffic in New Jersey and crashed into the rapper’s SUV. The impact happened on the side of the vehicle Cassidy was sitting on leaving him in critical condition with a fractured skull and broken bones on the left side of his face. A CAT scan revealed that brain activity was normal and his injuries were rendered not life-threatening.\r \r(Photo by Peter Kramer/Getty Images)
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The D.O.C.\r - Shortly after his debut album, No One Can Do It Better, was released in 1989, the D.O.C. suffered injuries to his vocal chords after a car accident crushed his larynx and turned his voice into a hoarse rasp, ending his rapping career. After that he stayed behind the scenes producing and ghostwriting for Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, who mentioned him in “What’s the Difference” from the 2001 album. “Back when Cube - was rollin wit Lorenzo in a Benzo, I was bangin' wit a gang of instrumentals, got the pens and pencils, got down to business; but sometimes the business end of this sh-- can turn your friends against you—but you was a real n----, I could sense it in you—I still remember the window of the car that you went through, that's f----- up—But I'll never forget the s--- we been through, and I'mma do whatever it takes to convince you, cuz you my n---- D.O.C.”
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Diamond\r - Former Crime Mob rapper Diamond survived a scary car crash last October. The Atlanta artist took to Twitter right after the incident to let fans in on what had just happened. “I just got into a car accident…Wow,” she wrote. “My car flipped over 3 times and I hit a tree. I’m thanking GOD I’m STILL ALIVE.” The Atlanta artist then went on to join Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia in the studio later that night.
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Marion "Suge" Knight\r - In 2010, Marion “Suge” Knight was involved in a car accident that knocked out his front teeth. The former CEO of Death Row Records was due in court for a lawsuit he filed against Kanye West in Miami, but missed the deposition. “He was in a pretty serious car accident,” his lawyer Marc Brumer told The Miami New Times. “He lost a couple of teeth, he’s in pain, and he can’t speak.”\r \r© Walik Goshorn / Retna Ltd.
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Dice Raw\r - Dice Raw, member and producer of The Roots and the Money Making Jam Boyz, was involved in a serious car crash early January. According to him, a woman ran a red light while making a turn in North Philadelphia and smashed head-on into the rapper’s new Jaguar convertible. “My car got totaled, my face got all cut up, my ankle and knee are f----d up, and I still can’t walk,” he told AllHipHop.com days after the accident. On the upside, the experience made Dice, born Karl Jenkins, want to be more involved in handicap organizations to raise awareness.\r \r(Photo by Matthew Peyton/Getty Images)
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Notorious B.I.G. - During the recording sessions for Life After Death in 1996, Biggie and his cousin Lil’ Cease were involved in a car accident while Cease was behind the wheel. The incident shattered Biggie’s left leg and confined him to a wheelchair. After two months of therapy, he still couldn’t walk with a rod through his leg and was later forced to use a cane to get around. His song “Long Kiss Goodnight” mentions the accident with the lyrics “Ya still tickle me, I used to be as strong as Ripple be/’Til Lil’ Cease crippled me.”
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Eminem\r - Although the rapper was not onboard at the time of the accident, Eminem’s Anger Management Tour bus overturned on a Missouri highway in July 2005. ITt was headed from Denver to Chicago. According to police reports, the bus was traveling at 80-90 mph when it ran off the road to avoid hitting a semi-truck. Then it swerved back onto the highway, and hit the truck along with another semi before overturning. Eleven people were taken to the hospital to be treated.\r \r(Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
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Kanye West - In October 2002, Kanye West left a California recording studio in a rented Lexus at around 3 a.m. after producing tracks for Beanie Sigel, Peedi Crakk and The Black Eyed Peas. Soon after, his vehicle crashed near the W Hotel in West Hollywood and the rapper/producer sustained nasal fractures and a broken jaw that had to be wired shut for six weeks. "The accident was so painful,” he told MTV. “The first two or three days were like some of the worst pains in my life. I would not wish this on anybody, except maybe three people. I was scared, 'cause you hear about people dying in surgery and this [injury] is dealing with my breathing.”His hit song “Through the Wire,” recorded a couple weeks later and with the artist’s mouth still wired shut, is a comedic retelling of the accident. It was nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award and won Video of the Year at the 2004 Source H...