2025 has been swinging harder than a Mike Tyson uppercut. Every few weeks, we found ourselves refreshing timelines and asking, “Wait… what?” We said goodbye to icons who shaped soundtracks, TV nights, Sunday mornings and even our dance moves at balls. They weren’t background noise. They were the moment. Here is a list of legendary African American celebrities who died in 2025.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Malcolm-Jamal Warner was only 54. The world knew him best as Theo Huxtable from The Cosby Show, where he basically perfected the art of teen sarcasm. In July, while vacationing in Costa Rica, he drowned. Fans across generations shared clips of Theo’s best one-liners and those classic brother-sister battles with Rudy. He acted, directed, made music and kept building a career long after sitcom fame faded for others.
Ananda Lewis
Music TV didn’t hit the same after Ananda Lewis stepped away. She made shows like BET’s Teen Summit and MTV’s TRL feel like you were hanging out with her between classes. She kept hosting, talking, connecting even when she was quietly battling breast cancer.
D’Angelo
D’Angelo changed neo-soul forever. Brown Sugar. Voodoo. Black Messiah. Three albums that created a whole mood for late-night playlists. The world lost him after a fight with pancreatic cancer. R&B still hasn’t recovered from that How Does It Feel? video…
Angie Stone
Angie Stone didn’t just sing soul. She breathed life into every note. Hits like No More Rain… those songs still get you right in the feelings. She died in a car crash when a Sprinter van collided with an 18-wheeler as she was heading home from a gig. She was 63, still working, still giving crowds everything.
Sam Moore
Sam Moore came first. Before streaming. Before TikTok dances. Before most of today’s artists were even a thought. Soul Man and Hold On, I’m Comin’ built what we now call soul music. The Sam & Dave legend passed away due to complications after surgery. He made it to 89, with a legacy older than half the genres topping charts today.
Irv Gotti
Hip-hop took a real hit when Irv Gotti died. The man co-founded Murder Inc. Records and gave us Ja Rule and Ashanti domination in the early 2000s. You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing Always On Time. A stroke ended his life, but every club DJ with taste still spins his empire.
George Foreman
George Foreman was many things: a two-time heavyweight champion, an Olympic gold medalist, a preacher, and the guy who convinced half the world their dinner would taste better cooked on his grill. He died in March at 76. Punching power didn’t define him nearly as much as his 12 kids and his later mission to inspire people far outside the ring.
Arthur Jones
Arthur Jones knew hustle. Drafted in the fifth round by the Baltimore Ravens in 2010, he somehow still stole the spotlight in Super Bowl XLVII by sacking Colin Kaepernick and grabbing a crucial fumble. His NFL career included 8.5 sacks in just two seasons. Gone too soon.
Lawrence Moten
Lawrence Moten, the Syracuse Orange legend and Washington D.C.’s own, died at 53. Still the university’s all-time leading scorer. Still beloved by anyone who saw him move like scoring was as normal as breathing. His daughter Lawrencia confirmed the news. A calm presence with a deadly shot.
T-Hood
Atlanta’s T-Hood was only starting to climb. One signature dreadlock. A voice that lived in the city’s heartbeat. Fans turned comment sections into candlelight vigils when news broke. He was carving something original in the blur between hip-hop and R&B.
Kimberly Hébert Gregory
Kimberly Hébert Gregory stole scenes for a living. You watched Vice Principals on HBO for laughs… then stayed for her. She died on October 3, 2025, at just 52. Her cause of death hasn’t been released yet. People are still processing.
Danielle Spencer
Danielle Spencer cracked us up in What’s Happening!! as Dee Thomas, the little sister with a PhD in snitching. She was 60 when stomach cancer took her life in August. She never lost her spark.
Lynn Hamilton
Lynn Hamilton gave Sanford and Son its beating heart as Donna Harris. She lived a long life—94 years—and died of natural causes in June.
Karen Silva
Karen Silva was the future. Just 17. A standout from The Voice Kids in Brazil, gone because of a hemorrhagic stroke. Her team released a message: “Karen was a symbol of empowerment.”
Khadiyah “KD” Lewis
Khadiyah “KD” Lewis from Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta hustled like her life depended on it. Three companies. A TV presence you couldn’t ignore. Her brother confirmed her passing, and fans remembered how she turned drive into legacy.
Kirk Medas
Kirk Medas from Floribama Shore always seemed one joke away from breaking the tension. He died May 2 at just 33 after two weeks in a Miami ICU battling necrotising pancreatitis.
Kenneth Washington
Kenneth Washington acted like the classiest man in any room he entered. Hogan’s Heroes, Star Trek, Westworld—roles that aged well. He spent years teaching film representation, passing wisdom along. He died July 18 from cardiopulmonary arrest and prostate cancer at 88.
Henry Fambrough
The Spinners still make wedding receptions better. Henry Fambrough, the last founding member and a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, died peacefully at 85. He kept the group alive from 1954 to 2023. That’s nearly seven decades of soul. Try topping that.
Joshua Allen
Joshua Allen showed the world what rhythm looks like. He won So You Think You Can Dance season 4 at 18. He popped up in Step Up 3D and Footloose. He died at 36, leaving shoe-scuffed dance floors.
D’Wayne Wiggins
D’Wayne Wiggins was born on Valentine’s Day, which fits. Tony! Toni! Toné! contributed more baby-making hits than we can responsibly list here: Feels Good, Little Walter. He changed Oakland’s sound.
Brenton Wood
Brenton Wood—real name Alfred Jesse Smith—helped define West Coast R&B in the 60s with The Oogum Boogum Song and Gimme Little Sign. He mixed heartbreak with charm and somehow made both catchy.
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack was playing piano at nine. At 15 she was studying at Howard University. Then Clint Eastwood picked one of her songs for Play Misty for Me and the world leaned in.
Vanessa Brown Knowles
Vanessa Brown Knowles co-founded The Brown Singers, bringing gospel joy to churches everywhere. Her daughter Lisa Knowles Smith said goodbye with love and pride. She was 63.
Gwen McCrae
Gwen McCrae gave us Rockin’ Chair in 1975, a song that still sends people straight to the dancefloor. She died at 81, leaving behind a groove that refuses to age.
Robbie Pardlo
Robbie Pardlo from City High poured emotion into every note. What Would You Do? hit people because it asked real questions. He was 46 when he passed, and fans still feel every lyric he left behind.
Sly Stone
Sly Stone changed the rules. Sly and the Family Stone didn’t fit into genres—they created new ones. Funk, soul, rock, whatever you call it, the blueprint has his fingerprints all over it. He was 82.
Voletta Wallace
Voletta Wallace was 72 when she died on February 21. The mother of Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G. Hip-hop royalty—because she raised it.
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