Young Noble has died aged 47, his fellow Outlawz member E.D.I. Mean has confirmed.
The rapper – real name Rufus Lee Cooper III -also featured in the music group alongside the late Tupac Shakur and reportedly died in Atlanta on Friday.
In an Instagram post featuring pictures of the pair of them, E.D.I. Mean (real name Malcolm Greenidge), wrote: ‘Today I got some of the worst and unexpected news imaginable. My brother and partner for over 30 years took his life this morning.
‘Rest in Power Rufus Young Noble Cooper.’
He added: ‘I obviously am in no shape to talk about this right now so PLEASE give his family and I some time to process this. Mental illness is a real battle being fought by so many. CHECK ON YOUR FOLKS!’.
The caption read: ‘I’m at a loss for words.’
Shakur’s official Instagram account, which is managed by his estate, reshared the post with the song Never Had A Friend Like Me and the caption: ‘RIP Young Noble’.
Under the original post, condolences flooded in for the hip-hop artist who reportedly died from self-inflicted wounds, per TMZ.
Snoop Dogg wrote: ‘Damn cuz. Sending prayers to the family.’
DJ Premier echoed: ‘This is so sad to get this news Edi.
Damn I’m speechless right now. My dude Noble.’
‘Just don’t know what to say man,’ Buckshotz commented.
‘Rest in power king Young Noble god bless your family !!!!’ blackcityhustlarecords shared.
Shakur died from his injuries after being shot four times in 1996.
Cooper made his debut on Shakur’s posthumous album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory with his featured songs including, Bomb First (My Second Reply), Hail Mary, Life of an Outlaw, and Just Like Daddy.
He also launched his own solo career in 2002 with Noble Justice. This was followed by Son of God in 2012, Powerful in 2016 and 3rd Eye View in 2019.
In June, Cooper posted a throwback photo of Shakur (pseudonym Makaveli) to celebrate his birthday.
‘Happy Heavenly Birthday to The Goat Makaveli. The greatest to ever do this…’ he wrote in the caption.
In an interview with The Art of Dialogue in 2024, he grew emotional as he recalled Shakur’s final days, saying he ‘was right there, front and centre’ and debunking the ongoing rumours about his death.
Cooper, who was born in 1978 in California before moving to New Jersey later in life, where he was handpicked by Shakur for Outlawz, suffered from ill health in recent years.
In May 2021, he posted that he had a ‘severe heart attack’ as he thanked his ‘amazing doctors’ and shared he was ‘grateful for a second chance’.
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