He lost his mother to a sudden heart attack while still in elementary school, and just a few years later, his father also passed away. Despite these hardships, he overcame many obstacles and went on to become one of the music world’s toughest icons. His name and full story below:

 

He was just a child in Newark when death came for his family, twice. Losing both parents before his teens left him emotionally numb and physically unprotected, drifting between relatives and coasts. In Los Angeles, he learned how race, class, and survival collided on the streets. Petty theft over a stolen bike grew into serious crime, even as he clung to a strange kind of discipline: no alcohol, no drugs, just hustle and fear.