Rich Homie Quan Dead at 34

Rapper Rich Homie Quan passed away on Thursday, Sept. 5 at his home in Atlanta, Georgia, according to a report by TMZ. Members of his family as well as sources at the Fulton County morgue confirmed the sad news, but no cause of death has been announced yet. His family said that they are desperate for answers themselves, as Quan was just 34 years old.

Dequantes Lamar was born and raised in Atlanta, and is best known for his breakout hit “Type of Way” as well as the singles “Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)” and “Ride Out.” He was heavily influenced by the “dirty south” style of hip-hop, including Jeezy, Gucci Mane, Lil Wayne and others. However, Lamar did not begin releasing music until 2012 when he was 22 years old, and he told an interviewer from XXL that he had never expected to find a career in the industry.

“I never saw myself going this far with music. Music was just a hobby at first. I never saw myself being on stage and rocking out shows,” he explained. Lamar told the outlet that he had focused primarily on baseball during his time in school, and had even earned a scholarship to Fort Valley State University for the sport. However, he dropped out quickly when tuition costs began to pile up, and in the years that followed he was sentenced to jail time for his connection to burglaries. He said: “After I got out of jail, I started to take it more serious and that’s when my dream came true.”

Lamar released his first mixtape Still Going In in 2012, and he began to make connections in the industry fast. He toured with Trinidad James in 2013, and through him collaborated with Young Thug. Later that year, his single “Type of Way” was released by Def Jam Recordings, while at the same time he was courting a deal with Cash Money Records. His connections to that label helped lead to the song “Ride Out,” which was featured in Fast & Furious 6. Lamar’s latest release was an EP titled Family & Mula, which came out in October of 2022.

Lamar’s personal life is not as well known as some stars in the industry, but he did reveal in a 2023 interview with Noisey that he has four sons, including one born in 2006 whom he did not know about until years later. His family life and relationships are not well-documented, but rumors of substance abuse issues have plagued the rapper for years. In 2014 he fainted on the set of a music video and denied speculation that it was related to drug use, and in 2017 he was arrested along with four others in a traffic stop where heroin, cannabis, paraphernalia and weapons were found in the vehicle.

Those rumors reared their heads again on Thursday as news of Lamar’s death spread, but so far there is nothing official to back the stories up. Lamar is remembered as a fun and energetic collaborator, a bombastic performer and a beloved member of his community in posts across social media.