In memoriam to those we lost in 2025
TheGrio...
We celebrate the lives of those who passed away in 2025, leaving an eternal mark on our community and culture.
2025 has been a very peculiar year. For many, it has been a particularly challenging year for various reasons, while for others, it was a year of celebration and accolades. Like most years, the Black community experienced both tremendous highs and lows. Among the lows are the lives lost—some quite publicly and others silently, shared via family (or friends) social media posts. Every loss to our community is significant and provides a moment to reflect on the legacies of those who have contributed in ways, even if their contribution has flown under the radar. Below is a list of deaths in the Black community, from musicians to businesspeople to pioneers in various arenas.
This list is in no way exhaustive of all those in our community who have transitioned in 2025.
D’Angelo
Michael Eugene Archer, better known to the world as the vanguard musical artist, D’Angelo, passed away on October 14 at age 51 from pancreatic cancer.
Ananda Lewis
Journalist, television personality, and model Ananda Lewis passed away on June 11, 2025, after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 52.
Carl Carlton
Singer Carl Carlton, best known for his hit cookout and Zeta Phi Beta stroll jam, “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked),” passed away on December 13, 2025, due to complications from a stroke. He was 73.
D’Wayne Wiggins
D’Wayne Wiggins, one of the founding members of the ’80s and ’90s era R&B group, Tony! Toni! Tone!, passed away on March 7, 2025, from bladder cancer. He was 64.
Irv Gotti
Record executive and music producer Irving “Gotti” Lorenzo Jr. passed away on February 5, 2025, due to complications from a stroke at age 54.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Actor, musician, podcaster, and poet Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” died on July 21, 2025, after a drowning accident in Costa Rica. He was 54.
Assata Shakur
Revolutionary figure, political activist, and former Black Panther Assata Shakur (born Joanne Byron aka Joanne Chesimard) died at age 78 in Havana, Cuba, where she’d been living since her escape from a New Jersey prison in 1979.
Voletta Wallace
Voletta Wallace, mother to The Notorious B.I.G. (born Christopher Wallace), died on February 21, 2025, at age 72. After the passing of her son in 1997, she became the gatekeeper of all things related to his legacy and ran the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation.
Angie Stone
Singer, songwriter, and producer Angie Stone was killed in a car accident on March 1, 2025, in Montgomery, Alabama, as she drove with her entourage from Mobile to Atlanta for a performance. Stone was 63.
Roberta Flack
Iconic singer/songwriter Roberta Flack died on February 24, 2025, at age 88, from a heart attack. Her version of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” became the definitive and enduring version of the record. Along with her tremendous Billboard chart success, she was the first artist to win Grammy Awards in back-to-back years for Record of the Year.
Sly Stone
Sly Stone, born Sylvester Stewart, was a legendary singer, songwriter, record producer, and funk pioneer who led the band Sly & The Family Stone. The band’s songs, such as “Dance to the Music” and “Everyday People,” have become staples on lists of the greatest songs of all time. He died on June 9, 2025, at age 82 of lung disease.
Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers died on March 4, 2025, at the age of 84. Ayers was an iconic vibraphonist, composer, and producer who is best known for legendary songs like “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” and “Searching.” Ayers’ recordings have been sampled countless times by hip-hop producers and artists.
George Foreman
Boxer and businessman George Foreman died on March 21, 2025, at age 76. Know as much for his George Foreman Grills as he was for his prowess in the ring, Foreman was an Olympic gold medalist and two-time heavyweight boxing champ.
Marshawn Kneeland
Marshawn Kneeland died on November 6, 2025, from an apparent suicide. He was an NFL player with the Dallas Cowboys, and he was 24.
Young Bleed
Baton Rouge, La., rapper Young Bleed, born Glenn Clifton, Jr., was best known for his affiliation with No Limit Records and his hit single, “How Ya Do Dat.” Young Bleed performed at the Cash Money vs No Limit Verzuz on October 25, 2025, and suffered a brain aneurysm days after the event. He passed away on November 1, 2025, at the age of 51.
Ike Turner, Jr.
Ike Turner, Jr. died on October 5, 2025, at age 67. He is the son of Ike Turner Sr. and Tina Turner and was a musician in his own right, having won a Grammy Award in 2007 for Best Traditional Blues Album for producing the final record for his father, “Risin’ With the Blues.”
Rolling Ray
Raymond Harper, professionally known as Rolling Ray, was an influencer and personality who passed away on September 3, 2025, at age 28 of natural causes.
Danielle Spencer
Danielle Spencer, best known as Dee Thomas on “What’s Happening!!” and “What’s Happening Now!!” died on August 11, 2025, at age 60 from stomach cancer.
Robbie Pardlo
Robbie Pardlow, one third of the 2000s R&B group City High, best known for their hit single, “What Would You Do?”, died on July 17, 2025, of heart failure at age 46.
Charlie Rangel
Charlie Rangel was a politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for over 46 years as a representative of his district in New York City and was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. He passed away on May 26, 2025, at 94 years old.
Sacha Jenkins
Sacha Jenkins was a filmmaker, television producer, journalist, hip-hop historian and founder of Ego Trip magazine. He died on May 23, 2025, from multiple system atrophy—he was 53.
Clarence O. Smith (Co-founder of “Essence”)
Clarence O. Smith, one of the co-founders of Essence magazine, died on April 21, 2025. He was 92. “Essence” would become a staple imprint of the Black community, becoming essential to the cultural conversation, especially for its focus on the celebration, empowerment, and influence of Black women.
Alexis Herman (first Black Secretary of Labor)
Alexis Herman was the first Black person to serve as the United States Secretary of Labor, which she did from 1997 to 2001 under President Clinton. She died on April 25, 2025, at age 77, following an extended illness.
Mia Love (Republican congresswoman from Utah)
Mia Love was a politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah. She represented several Black firsts. She was the first Haitian-American elected to Congress, the first Black representative from the state of Utah, and the first Black woman elected as a Republican to Congress. Love died on March 23, 2025, at age 49 from glioblastoma, a brain cancer.
Junior Bridgeman
Junior Bridgeman was a former NBA player who crafted an entire second successful career as a businessman, eventually acquiring Ebony and Jet magazines. He passed away on March 11, 2025, at age 71 after suffering a heart attack.
Retired Lt. Col. Harry Stewart, Jr (Tuskegee Airman)
Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr. was a fighter pilot who served as a member of the Air Force’s 332nd Fighter Group, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen. He died on February 2, 2025, at 100 years old.
Barry Michael Cooper
Barry Michael Cooper was a screenwriter, producer and director, best known for writing the screenplays for “New Jack City,” “Sugar Hill,” and “Above the Rim.” He died on January 22, 2025. He was 66 years old.