Injury Report: When Rappers Get Hurt From Accidents

A look back at rappers who've been seriously hurt in different types of accidents.

Not Available Lead
Image via Complex Original
Not Available Lead

Intro

Not Available Interstitial

DOC

Not Available Interstitial

The D.O.C.

What happened? On November 17, 1989—mere months after the release of his classic debut album No One Can Do It Better—The D.O.C. got drunk, drove his car down Ventura Freeway, fell asleep at the wheel, and eventually slammed face first into a tree. He was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.

Complex says: Probably the saddest story on this list, the damage to D.O.C.’s vocal cords turned his voice from slick to hoarse and basically ended his rap career. One of the greatest wordsmiths of the ‘80s—with enough bars to give Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, and Kool G Rap a run for their money—D.O.C. would go on to drop two more albums, Helter Skelter in 1996 and Deuce in 2003, but he simply wasn’t the same.

Biggie

Not Available Interstitial

The Notorious B.I.G.

What happened? In 1996, while being driven by Lil Cease and riding with his then-girlfriend Charli Baltimore, Biggie was involved in a car crash in New Jersey that shattered his left leg. He would later rhyme about it on “Long Kiss Goodnight” spitting, “I used to be as long as Ripple be, until Lil Cease crippled me.”

Complex says: If you remember all those times Biggie sported a cane—like on this classic ego trip cover—it wasn’t just because Poppa was a player. After his accident, Big walked around with one for the rest of his life. But there was an upside, according to Charli Baltimore, the months Big spent recovering led to Life After Death becoming a double album.

The Streets

Not Available Interstitial

The Streets

What happened? While on tour in March 2001, The Streets hit the stage in Brighton, England and went crowd surfing. Either his fans love him too much or not enough because the man born Mike Skinner ended up battered and bruised. The next night, he played a show in London and although he told his fans, “I'm taking every painkiller out there," he went crowd surfing again.

Complex says: Skinner being on every painkiller known to man confirms our long-held suspicion about him...dude knows how to party!

Erick Sermon

Not Available Interstitial

Erick Sermon

What happened? One of the Top Ten Worst Hip-Hop Fails of All-Time, on September 27, 2001 Erick Sermon fell out a three-story window and suffered head trauma. His label tried to play it off telling the police he had been in a car accident, but eventually the truth was revealed.

Complex says: True, you could argue that Sermon didn’t accidentally fall out of a window and that this was actually a botched suicide attempt. But Sermon has always denied that. Either way, it’s all one big L.

Not Available Interstitial

Kanye West

What happened? On October 23, 2003 Kanye fell asleep at the wheel while out in Los Angeles and crashed his car on the way back from a late night studio session. He sustained serious injuries and famously fractured his jaw.

Complex says: Kanye’s accident is probably the most famous in hip-hop history. Mostly because Kanye used it as inspiration for “Through The Wire” from The College Dropout.

The Alchemist

Not Available Interstitial

The Alchemist

What happened? In July 2005, an Anger Management 3 tour bus was riding through Missouri and after an ill-advised move by the driver, the bus flipped over. Nearly a dozen people were left injured, including rapper/producer and Eminem’s DJ Alchemist. Al sustained three fractured ribs and a bruised lung. Stat Quo was also involved in the crash, but wasn’t seriously hurt.

Complex says: Thankfully, Alchemist was able to make a speedy recovery, but we’re guessing with all the weed that dude smokes, his lungs were already kinda bruised before the accident.

Gravy

Not Available Interstitial

Gravy

What happened? Yet another legendary fail, on April 26, 2006 Gravy got shot in his butt by someone in his own crew. We really hope it was by accident because if not all we can say is...

Complex says: ...“Some of you new rappers, I don't understand your code/You have your man shoot you, like in that Sopranos episode.” - Nasir Jones. Coincidentally, the Sopranos episode Nas was referring to actually aired just three weeks before Gravy was shot. Hmmmm.....

Cassidy

Not Available Interstitial

Cassidy

What happened? On October 4, 2006, while riding as a passenger in a SUV in route to a studio in Yonkers, Cassidy suffered a fractured skull and several broken bones in his face after a U-Haul truck hit the car.

Complex says: According to Cass, after the accident he was in a coma for about a week and upon waking up, had temporary amnesia and forgot all his rhymes. But come on Cass, are the lyrics to "Hotel" really that hard to remember?

Ya Boy

Not Available Interstitial

Ya Boy

What happened? Although we had a hard time finding a legit news source to confirm it, there’s plenty of talk on forums about how Ya Boy injured his arms, legs, and stomach while riding his motorcycle in October 2008.

Complex says: Who needs a MTV write-up when you got images like these to confirm your pain and suffering?

Drake

Not Available Interstitial

Drake

What happened? In June 2009, Drake tore his ACL, MCL, and LCL while playing basketball. He then made a risky move and decided to go on the America’s Most Wanted tour. It turned out to be a bad idea because on July 30, while performing on stage, Drake managed to re-tear his ACL after taking a nasty spill on stage.

Complex says: We hear it’s a super painful thing to tear your ACL once, so we can only imagine how much it hurts the second time. Still, the series of events led to things like @DrakesKnee and this GIF, so at least we all got some good laughs out of Drake’s pain and suffering.

Bun B

Not Available Interstitial

Bun B

What happened? While performing at Gumball 3000 in Stockholm, Sweden in May 2010, Bun B tore his knee open and sprained ligaments in his right arm after falling off an overcrowded stage. But like a Trill OG, Bun just took some Extra Strength Excedrin and didn’t even go see a doctor because he didn’t want to be forced to withdraw from the rally.

Complex says: We’re kinda surprised this kind of thing never happened to anyone from Dipset since those guys usually have 300 goons on stage taking up space and looking gully.

Dice Raw

Not Available Interstitial

Dice Raw

What happened? On January 5, 2011 while driving down a Philadelphia street, a woman ran a red light and ran right into Dice Raw’s Jaguar XK convertible. To hear Dice tell it, he got hurt pretty bad: "My car got totaled, my face got all cut up, my ankle and knee are fucked, and I still can’t walk."

Complex says: Wait, hold on just one second....Dice Raw pushes a Jaguar XK convertible? WTF? Guess they don’t call them the Money Making Jam boys for nothing!

Game

Not Available Interstitial

The Game

What happened? On January 13, 2011, on the set of his “Purp and Yellow” video shoot, Game went wild like a rock star and smashed a guitar. But he may have gone too wild because he ended up cutting his hand in the process. Game was later taken to the hospital and got stitches.

Complex says: Game also went on Twitter and tweeted about the whole incident including this tweet, "Then I cut my f#ckin hand up !!!! & it was alot worse then this picture http://twitpic.com/3pxtj9." Whaddup blood? You scared of a little blood? LOL.

Vanilla Ice

Not Available Interstitial

Vanilla Ice

What happened? While training for Dancing On Ice, on January 26, 2011, Vanilla Ice slipped, fell, and cracked his head open. Ice was knocked unconscious and later required multiple stitches on his skull.

Complex says: As if being a contestant on Dancing On Ice wasn’t bad enough, leave it to Vanilla to find a way to make it worse. Seriously, shoutout to him for always finding creative ways to fail at life.

Latest in Music