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Pumpkinhead Dead At 39: New York Rapper Mourned By Hip Hop Community

By Gregory Wakeman
Published on: 12:30 PST, Jun 9, 2015

New York rapper Pumpkinhead died at the age of 39 on Tuesday. The reason for the death of the musician, who was born Robert Alan Diaz, hasn’t been disclosed.

Marco Polo, who was a friend of Pumpkinhead and a producer, was the first to break the distressing news.

Talib Kweli, who, like Pumpkinhead, also hails from Brooklyn, soon took to his Instagram account to share his thoughts on his passing.

Kweli, who has been a prolific hip-hop artist since 1995 and frequently collaborates with Mos Def, wrote, “Just finding out I lost a great friend today. RIP Robert Diaz AKA Pumpkinhead. Robert and I went to PS 282 together in Brooklyn, 4th grade. We then reconnected when he became an MC during the indie era of the late 90s.”

Kweli praised Pumpkinhead’s battle-rap prowess before adding that he “loved MCing and was great at it.” Kweli concluded, “To lose such a great human being so early in his life, man. No words. There is a fraternity of artists who were around for all of this. PH inspired us all. He will live on thru us even though his physical presence will be missed. RIP Robert Diaz.”

Pumpkinhead’s most notable work came in 2005 with his album Orange Moon Over Brooklyn. Produced by Marco Polo, it proved to be a cult hit and received critical acclaim. He also had a radio hit in 1997 with “Dynamic”.

Pumpkinhead, who was born in Park Slope, Brooklyn, also collaborated with a plethora of other rappers, which included Jean Grae, Wordsworth, Murs, and Del the Funky Homosapien.

A flood of other tributes to Pumpkinhead also started to come in as news of his death spread:

Billboard has reported that Diaz leaves behind his wife and their two sons, while his funeral arrangements are yet to be confirmed.

[Image via All Hip Hop]

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