Veteran Indie/Battle rapper Pumpkinhead passed away early Tuesday morning (June 9th) at the age of 39. His cause of death is unknown, but the emcee’s records show he was admitted to a New Jersey hospital last week for a minor surgery. Pumpkinhead (real name Roberto Diaz) was known in the local NYC underground and battle rap scene for his lyricism that focused on hilarious punchlines and had a people-friendly personality. His good friend Talib Kweli took to Instagram to mourn his death:
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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. He signed to Makin Records, I signed to Rawkus. Then PH went on to reinvent himself again in the new battle rap era. He LOVED MCing and was great at it. 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.
