January • On January 1,
Gangsta Boo died of a drug overdose at the age of 43 in
Memphis, Tennessee. • On January 5, there was a shootout outside
DJ Khaled's The Licking Restaurant in
Miami, Florida, while filming a
French Montana music video. • On January 7,
YoungBoy Never Broke Again married his girlfriend, Jazlyn Mychelle. • On January 13,
Kanye West married designer
Bianca Censori. • On January 16,
Lil Tjay was arrested for gun possession in
New York. • On January 27,
Drake's home was burglarized in
Los Angeles.
February • On February 5,
Kendrick Lamar won both
Best Rap Performance and
Best Rap Song for "
The Heart Part 5" at the
65th Annual Grammy Awards. Lamar also won the
Best Rap Album for
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, and
Future won
Best Melodic Rap Performance for "
Wait for U", featuring
Drake and
Tems. • On February 10, South African rapper
AKA was fatally gunned down in
Durban,
KwaZulu-Natal. • On February 12,
Trugoy the Dove of
De La Soul, died at the age of 54, with the cause of his death remaining undisclosed. • On February 22, Eric Holder Jr. was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison for the murder of
Nipsey Hussle in March 2019. • On February 23,
R. Kelly was sentenced in Chicago federal court to 20 years in prison for child pornography and other sexual crimes involving minors, with 19 years being concurrent to his previous 30-year term handed down in New York. Kelly will now serve 31 years in prison.
March • On March 2,
Lil Mosey was found not guilty of second-degree rape. • On March 3,
De La Soul's full discography became available on streaming services for the first time. • On March 5, a stampede occurred at a
GloRilla and
Finesse2tymes concert in
Rochester, New York, leaving three people dead and 7 people injured. • On March 10,
Jay Park won Artist of the Year at the
Korean Hip-hop Awards. • On March 11, South African rapper
Costa Titch collapsed on stage while performing. He later died at the age of 27. • On March 20, Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams, and Trayvon Newsome were convicted on all counts for the
armed robbery and murder of
XXXTentacion in June 2018.
April • On April 6, Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams, and Trayvon Newsome were all formally sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder of
XXXTentacion. On the same day,
Coolio's cause of death was revealed as an overdose of
fentanyl. • On April 26,
Pras, of the
Fugees, was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the US, witness tampering and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, for his role in the
1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal (1MDB). • On April 27,
Kendrick Lamar's
The Big Steppers Tour became the highest-grossing tour by a rapper as a headlining act in history, with $110.9 million from 929,000 tickets sold in 73 shows.
May • On May 3,
Missy Elliott,
Rage Against the Machine,
DJ Kool Herc, and
Don Cornelius were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On the same day,
Boosie Badazz announced he was cancer free via Instagram. • On May 4,
Mozzy was released from prison. • On May 5,
Chris Brown got into an altercation with
Usher at his birthday party in
Las Vegas after an argument over
Teyana Taylor. • On May 17, Robert Allen was sentenced to 2 years in prison for the murder of
XXXTentacion. On the same day,
Sheff G,
Sleepy Hallow, and 30 other alleged members of the 8 Trey
Crips and 9 Ways gangs were indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy, murder, assault, kidnapping, reckless endangerment, and gun possession. • On May 24,
Fetty Wap was sentenced to 6 years in prison for drug trafficking. • On May 25, Patrick Xavier Clarke was charged for the murder of
Takeoff. • On May 30,
DaniLeigh was arrested for a
DUI in
Miami-Dade County, Florida.
June • On June 7,
Tupac Shakur was honored with a
Hollywood Walk of Fame star. On the same day,
Blueface was arrested in
Las Vegas on robbery charges. • On June 9, Jamarcus Johnson pleaded guilty and was charged for the murder of
Young Dolph. • On June 12, the
trial for
YNW Melly on charges of first-degree murder began. • On June 16,
Quando Rondo was arrested in
Chatham County, Georgia, for drug conspiracy and gang activity. • On June 18,
Big Pokey collapsed and later died from
cardiac arrest while performing at a bar in
Beaumont, Texas. • On June 21,
XXL released their
2023 Freshman Class, including
Finesse2tymes,
Lola Brooke,
Rob49,
Fridayy,
GloRilla,
2Rare,
SleazyWorld Go,
Central Cee,
Real Boston Richey,
Luh Tyler,
TiaCorine, and
DC the Don. • On June 23,
Jacquees was arrested for battery in
Gwinnett County, Georgia. • On June 26,
Melle Mel, of
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, was arrested for domestic violence. • On June 27,
Casanova was sentenced to 15 years in prison. On the same day,
Drake was awarded the key to
Shelby County in
Memphis.
July • On July 2, a shooting at a nightclub in
Wichita, Kansas, where
Mozzy was performing at left 7 injured and 1 dead. Mozzy was briefly detained and released later that night. • On July 5,
MF Doom's cause of death was revealed as
angioedema. • On July 20,
SpotemGottem was arrested for gun possession, burglary and fleeing a police officer. On the same day,
G Herbo pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit
wire fraud and making a false statement to a federal official. • On July 22, the double murder trial for
YNW Melly concluded. The trial ended with a
hung jury, and the judge declared a mistrial. • On July 24,
Quavo was aboard a
yacht in
Miami, Florida when it was robbed by an armed crew.
August • On August 2,
Lizzo was sued for allegedly creating a
hostile work environment by
sexually harassing and
weight shaming her dancers. • On August 7,
DJ Casper died of kidney and liver cancer at the age of 58. • On August 8,
Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting
Megan Thee Stallion. • On August 10,
6ix9ine was arrested in
Miami, Florida for failing to appear in court. • August 11 represents the 50th anniversary of hip hop music and culture, and a concert honoring this milestone took place at
Yankee Stadium.
Run-DMC was the headline act, and a group of hip hop founders performed including Cindy Campbell and her brother
DJ Kool Herc. • On August 13, it was reported that
Magoo had died at the age of 50. • On August 15, it was reported that
Young Capone had died at the age of 35 after he went missing in
Chicago, Illinois. • On August 19,
Gunplay was arrested in
Miami, Florida for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, and child abuse. • On August 20,
Blac Youngsta's brother was killed at a gas station in
Memphis, Tennessee. On the same day, felony murder charges against Lul Tim for involvement in
King Von's killing were dropped. • On August 23,
Blueface was stabbed at a gym in
Los Angeles, California. On the same day,
Polo G, alongside his brother Trench Baby, was arrested following a police raid at his house in Los Angeles, California. • On August 24, Burmese artist
Byu Har was sentenced to 20 years in prison for criticizing the military-controlled government's inability to provide electricity to
Yangon - a harsher sentence than other celebrities found guilty of criticism. • On August 29,
August 08 died at the age of 31.
September • On September 3,
Chrisean Rock gave birth to her first child. • On September 5,
B.G. was released from prison in
New Orleans, Louisiana. • On September 9, the intersection of
Ludlow Street and Rivington Street in
New York City, featured on the cover of ''
Paul's Boutique'', was renamed to
Beastie Boys Square. • On September 15,
Diddy received the key to
New York City. • On September 22,
Krayzie Bone was hospitalized after coughing up blood in his sleep due to
sarcoidosis. • On September 29,
Duane Davis was arrested in connection with the
murder of
Tupac Shakur in September 1996, in
Las Vegas, Nevada.
October • On October 3, the
2023 BET Hip Hop Awards were held.
Kendrick Lamar won the most awards with four: Hip Hop Artist of the Year, Best Live Performer, Lyricist of the Year, and Video Director of the Year, alongside
Dave Free.
Drake and
21 Savage won Best Duo/Group and
Hip Hop Album of the Year for
Her Loss.
Lil Uzi Vert won Best Hip Hop Video and Song of the Year for "
Just Wanna Rock". • On October 9,
retrial for
YNW Melly on charges of murder began. • On October 17,
Gucci Mane and
T.I. squashed their beef after 20 years. • On October 20,
Yung Bleu was arrested for battery. • On October 31, two suspects were charged in the murder of
PnB Rock.
November • On November 3, a section of MacArthur Boulevard in
Oakland, California, where
Tupac Shakur had previously lived, was renamed to Tupac Shakur Way. • On November 7,
C-Knight of
The Dove Shack died of a stroke at the age of 52. • On November 8,
Ralo was released from prison. • On November 17,
Diddy's former partner
Cassie Ventura filed a lawsuit against him accusing him of rape, sex trafficking, and physical abuse. • On November 23, Towne Center Drive in
Compton, California was renamed to Eazy Street in honor of
Eazy-E. • On November 27, the
trial for
Young Thug on
RICO charges began.
December • On December 6,
Sauce Walka was arrested for evading arrest In
Harris County, Texas. • On December 7,
Kodak Black was arrested for possession of cocaine in
Plantation, Florida. • On December 8,
Quando Rondo was arrested on federal drug charges in
Savannah, Georgia. • On December 9,
2 Chainz was hospitalized with neck injuries after his car was struck by a
drunk driver. • On December 10,
Rich the Kid was arrested for trespassing a police investigation of a bomb threat in
Miami Beach, Florida. ==Released albums==