Rich Homie Quan, the Atlanta rapper known for his hits “Type of Way” and “Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)” and collaborations with Young Thug, has died, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause of death has not been announced. Rich Homie Quan was 34.
Rich Homie Quan was born Dequantes Devontay Lamar in Atlanta, Georgia. Growing up, Quan excelled at baseball, eventually becoming a star at Ronald E. McNair High School in DeKalb County, where he also learned to write creatively. In a 2018 essay for Talkhouse, he specifically credited his teacher Miss Butch for inspiring him. “She would tell me, ‘I just want you to write. Close your eyes and think about what you’re writing,’” he wrote. “And every time I closed my eyes, they would turn into poems.”
Quan ended up in prison after high school, and while incarcerated, he focused on reading, writing and his rap career. “When I got locked up, I started thinking about everything I was good at,” he said. XXLin 2014, after being named to the publication’s vaunted freshman class. “When I was a kid, I loved to read. Literature was my favorite subject. I loved creative writing class. So when I got locked up, I read my first book in prison. I’ve been reading for years, but I read my first book in prison with understanding. When I learned how to actually read a book, it took my mind to another place. So after that, I started writing poems, and after that, my poems didn’t feel like poems anymore, they felt like rhymes. I thought, ‘Let me see if I can put this to a beat.’”
Rich Homie Quan has released his first mixtape, I participate in every songin 2012, and he quickly followed it with I keep going there et Still on the road – Recharged. The latter project featured his breakout hit, “Type of Way,” an irresistible slice of melodic Atlanta trap that reached No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Type of Way” showcased the richness and texture of Rich Homie Quan’s voice, both triumphant and full of pathos. And, in a few words, he captured the often indefinable feelings at the heart of many great songs: “Some type of way, make you feel some type of way.”
“Type of Way,” which was reissued by Def Jam Recordings, also made Quan a sought-after collaborator who was soon featured on YG’s album My Crazy Life notable tracks “My N—a,” Yo Gotti’s “I Know” and many more.
