Drugs, alcohol, violence and stardom make a deadly combination

Mona

The Last Ride, he posted on May 15; exactly two weeks later, singer-turned-politician Sidhu Moosewala went on his last ride. Brutally shot dead, the lyrics of his song Chobbar De Chehre Utte Noor Dassda Ni Ehda Uthuga Jawani Ch Janaja Mithiye (the glow of young handsome boy says that he will die young) is stark reality. Premonition or coincidence, the song is considered a tribute to another rapper Tupac Shakur/2Pac, who also met a similar, violent, end.

Aged 25, American rapper Tupac, who was Moosewala’s inspiration, was shot in his car in 1996, and died of the gun wounds six days later. Both Moosewala and Tupac sang gangsta rap. Both killed in their 20s, fans are finding eerie similarities. Both went without their bodyguards, purportedly the car in Moosewala’s video is said to be the one that Tupac took his last ride in! The song is now seen as Moosewala’s tribute to Tupac, it proved to be his last too.

Unfortunately, apart from these two, there have been scores of young musicians, whose life and career was cut short by homicide, or suicide. These include the infamous 27 Club, Amy Winehouse, XXXTentacion, Kim Jong-hyun, Avicii, and many more artistes.

27 Club

An urban legend, 27 Club, refers to famous artistes and athletes who died at age 27 due to accidents, alcohol, drugs or violence. Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones, American guitarist Jimi Hendrix, rock stars Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain—all died at 27! The most recent entry to this Club has been singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse. Back to Black hitmaker is said to have died from alcohol poisoning.

Mind game

K-pop star Kim Jong-hyun of boy band SHINee also died at 27, allegedly due to suicide through carbon monoxide poisoning, in 2019. South Korean popstar Sulli was found dead at age 25 in 2019, reportedly due to suicide. Solo K-pop star Kim Jin-soo, known as Tany, died at the age of just 22 in a freak accident in 2018. South Korean actors and artistes’ untimely deaths, allegedly by suicide, raised concerns about mental health worldwide.

While Sidhu Moosewala’s latest track Everybody Hurts hints at suicide, mental health issues with young stars riding on fame have been commonly reported. Swedish DJ, songwriter, producer DJ Tim Bergling aka Avicii topped international charts with Wake Me Up reportedly suffered from anxiety and was found dead. XXXTentacion, called ‘rap’s most controversial man’, sang of drugs and violence. This American rapper, whose name was Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, was allegedly shot multiple times in a robbery attempt in Florida in 2018.

Life cut short

Even Punjab has seen its share of unfortunate killings of folk singers, including Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjot. Called the Elvis of Punjab, Chamkila was gunned down at Mehsampur, Punjab, in 1988. Singer Dilshad Akhtar too was shot dead during a stage performance in Singhpura, Muktsar Sahib, Punjab, in 1996.

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