Tupac collaborator Young Noble dead at 47 as heartbreaking cause of rapper’s passing is revealed

Rufus Lee Cooper III, a rapper who used the stage name Young Noble, has died in an apparent suicide at the age of 47.

Noble was part of the 1990s group Outlawz – the last member to be handpicked by co-founder Tupac Shakur before the latter was gunned down in 1996.

Shakur’s cousin E.D.I. Mean, another Outlawz member, heartbrokenly announced on Friday that Noble ‘took his life this morning.’

Sources claimed that Noble killed himself in Atlanta, Georgia and that the means was a self-inflicted gunshot, according to TMZ.

Insiders also stated that Noble had recently played basketball with his friends, and at that time exhibited no signs that he was unwell.

When he suffered a severe heart attack in 2021, Noble had written on Instagram that he was ‘grateful for a second chance’ after the ‘amazing doctors’ saved his life.

Rufus Lee Cooper III, a rapper who used the stage name Young Noble, has died in an apparent suicide at the age of 47; pictured 2017

Noble was still part of Outlawz at the time of his death, as was E.D.I. Mean, who broke the news of his passing on Instagram this Friday.

‘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,’ wrote Mean, whose Christian name is Malcolm Greenridge.

‘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 IN ON YO UR FOLKS! #04L.’

Born and raised in Los Angeles County, Noble joined Outlawz at the start of 1996, just months before Shakur was shot dead in Las Vegas aged 25.

Noble was in the hospital room with Shakur after the shooting, and saw the superstar’s mother Afeni make the decision to take him off life support.

‘He probably coulda lived. His mama said: “Nah, f*** all that.” I think he lost his finger. I think he was gonna lose a lung. They was trying to do all these surgeries,’ he recalled years later in an interview with The Art of Dialogue.

‘You know how strong your mama gotta f***ing be to say: “Damn, he might, he probably gonna make – he probably could make it. I don’t want my son to endure no more pain in this world. Y’all tear him down,”‘ he recalled.

‘That s*** is devastating. She let her son go. ‘Pac ain’t die. Afeni said: “Let my son fly. That’s it,”‘ he said, eventually becoming so emotional he walked out of the interview. 

Noble was part of the 1990s group Outlawz – the last member to be handpicked by co-founder Tupac Shakur before the latter was gunned down in 1996; Shakur pictured that year

Alongside his work with Outlawz, Noble also released a number of his own albums, including Noble Justice, Son of God, Powerful and 3rd Eye View; pictured this May on his Instagram

Two months later, Shakur’s album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory was released, with Noble featured on four of its songs.  

Outlawz’ Yaki Kadafi, who was in the car with Shakur when the latter was murdered, was himself killed in November 1996 in a purportedly accidental shooting.

Two other Outlawz have since died – Mussolini aka Big Syke, who was reportedly obese and suffered heart problems, succumbed to natural causes aged 48 in 2016.

Meanwhile Hussein Fatal was killed in a car crash in 2015 at the age of 42 while being driven by his girlfriend, who was charged with DUI.

Alongside his work with Outlawz, Noble also released a number of his own albums, including Noble Justice, Son of God, Powerful and his 2019 swan song 3rd Eye View.

Last year he withstood a personal tragedy when his mother Ellene Furr discovered she had stage 3 cancer and after a ‘rapid decline’ died in July at the age of 78.

Noble was in the hospital room with Shakur after the latter’s shooting, and saw the superstar’s mother Afeni make the decision to take him off life support; Shakur pictured 1996

This March, shortly before his final birthday, Noble shared an Instagram post memorializing his late loved ones and expressing gratitude for his own life.

‘Woke up thinkin about all my amazing Family & Friends who are no longer with me in the physical but are now my Angels & Ancestors walking with me forever in my Heart & Spirit..,’ he reflected, alongside a slideshow of the people he had lost.

‘Life is shorter than we think I turn 47 later this month by the good grace of God an im extremely grateful to have made it this far.. Don’t take TODAY for granted good people.. Live, Love & Forgive Have a blessed day!! #Outlaw4Life #NSN #HealthIsTheRealWealth #RestWellToAllMyLovedOnes’.

His final Instagram post, uploaded less than two weeks before his suicide, was an inspirational meme encouraging viewers to carry on.

‘You’re not reading this by accident,’ the post read. ‘This is your confirmation. You’re going to make it. No matter what it looks like right now. God is going to send blessings, solutions, healing, love, and positive change your way. So hold on, be strong and don’t give up. You are next in line for your miracle.’